Kim expressed his willingness to reconnect inter-Korean hotlines starting from October, but criticised the South's "delusion" over what it calls military provocations from the North. North Korea severed the hotlines in early August in protest against joint South Korea-US military drills, just days after reopening them for the first time in a year. "We have neither aim nor reason to provoke South Korea and no idea to harm it," he said, according to the official KCNA news agency. Also Read - North Korea joins race for new hypersonic missile with latest testSouth Korea's Unification Ministry responsible for inter-Korean affairs welcomed Kim's offer on the hotlines, but did not comment on his other remarks. "The North seems upset about the Biden administration having not made any concrete, tempting proposal to resume negotiations," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 30, 2021 03:45 UTC