Seoul-Pyongyang private phone lines open

Permanent private telephone lines directly connecting Seoul with Pyongyang have opened for the first time in the nation's history.

The Unification Ministry said Wednesday that it has approved the opening of three telephone lines as hot lines between Seoul and Pyongyang. The three were among the eight indirect phone lines established by Hyundai Electronics Industries, Korea Telecom and Onse Telecom for the Mt. Kumgang tourism program.

Hyundai officials said that they established the three hot lines at Hyundai's gymnasium construction site and a lodging place for South Korean workers in Pyongyang, and made the first phone calls at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

Using the new lines, workers at the construction site and lodging place can make phone calls to anywhere in the South, the officials said. But from Seoul, people can only call three telephone lines in Pyongyang designated by the North Korean government.

Currently, there are 29 direct phone lines between the South and North open for governmental contacts and conferences, as well as 16 indirect lines for the light-water nuclear reactor and Mt. Kumgang tourism projects that operate via a third country.

Ha Tae-Won scooop@donga.com