North Korea Calls South Korea, Ending Two-Year Communication Breakdown

A South Korean government official checks the direct communications hotline to talk with the North Korean side at the border village of Panmunjom on Jan. 3, 2018 in Panmunjom, South Korea. South Korean Unification Ministry via Getty Images

North Korea ended a two-year diplomatic breakdown with South Korea on Jan. 3 with a phone call on a special hotline set up to maintain a connection between the two countries.

The line had been silent for two years, with the North refusing to answer calls, following South Korea’s criticism of the North’s ongoing ballistic missile and nuclear bomb tests.