According to South Korea's Unification Ministry, the North Koreans made first contact at exactly the time ordered, and the sides were on the phone from 3:30 p.m. to 3:50 p.m. local time (South Korea is half an hour ahead of North Korea). A South Korean official communicates with a North Korean officer on the dedicated communications hotline at the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, on Wednesday. Until Wednesday, North Korea had not answered since February 2016 when South Korea suspended operations at the joint Kaesong Industrial Complex, a business park that once employed workers from both sides. 02:22"We have been calling North Korea twice a day at 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. but North Korea has not been responding since we had the last contact in February 2016. JUST WATCHED Haley: US won't accept a nuclear North Korea Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Haley: US won't accept a nuclear North Korea 02:11US' tough stanceTrump's hardline stance was backed by the country's Ambassador to the United Nations, who reiterated Tuesday that the US "will never accept a nuclear North Korea."

Source: CNN January 03, 2018 05:29 UTC