Korean military hotline restored

North Korea restored its military communications hotline with South Korea and said it would reopen a border crossing, officials said.

The North Korean military cut the communications line on March 9 to protest at Seoul’s decision to hold 12 days of joint military exercises with US troops across South Korea at a time of heightened tension on the peninsula.

Washington and Seoul call the war games routine defence drills but Pyongyang accused the two nations’ militaries of preparing to attack the North.