S.Korean FM stresses need for effective communication channels with DPRK

SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha stressed the need Monday for effective communication channels with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) following the DPRK's test-launch late last month of a long-range ballistic missile.

Kang said at a forum in Seoul that effective communication channels should be sought to deliver the international community's united voice to the DPRK, saying the divided Koreas urgently needed the military hotlines as well as the reunion of separated families.

The two Koreas have been divided since the 1950-53 Korean war ended in armistice, not a peace treaty. People of the Korean Peninsula have since been banned from exchanging letters and phone calls.

If the DPRK participates in the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games and Paralympics, which would be held in South Korea's western region in February and March next year, it would become a good opportunity to resume the hotline and the reunion of separated families of the two Koreas, Kang said.

Regardless of the DPRK's participation, Kang said her country will make all-out efforts to make the winter sports event successful and safe.

She emphasized that despite the DPRK's provocation, the international community will never tolerate Pyongyang's nuclear weapons, vowing to strengthen diplomatic efforts to encourage the DPRK to come to a dialogue table via pressure from all directions. Enditem