South and North Korea are holding working-level military talks for restoring their communication lines.<br />For more, let's connect to our Park Hee-jun.<br />Hee-jun, tell us more about today's talks...<br /><br /> Semin.<br />The inter-Korean military talks are presumably beginning as we speak,... as they were scheduled to start at 10AM, Korea time -- a matter of minutes ago.<br />The talks are being held at the CIQ, or the Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine Office located in Paju, Gyeonggi-do Province,... just south of the inter-Korean border.<br /><br /> The South Korean delegation is being led by Army Colonel Cho Yong-geun,... and the North Korean delegation by Colonel Om Chang-nam.<br /><br />They're a follow-up to last week's general-level negotiations.<br />The two sides will mainly discuss fully reconnecting their military communications channels in the East Sea and West Sea districts.<br /> They serve to prevent possible provocations and conflict between the two Koreas.<br />The West Sea channel was severed in 2016 after the shutdown of the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex.<br />It was restored in January for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics,... but it's only capable of phone communication -- that is verbal messages only.<br />The optic cable lines need to be recovered for the two sides to exchange faxes.<br />As for the East Sea communication lines,... they were suspended in 2011 amid military tensions.<br />On top of that,... they were later destroyed in a wildfire.<br /><br /> These talks are the first of their kind in several years,... since the deadly attack on the South Korean warship Cheonan in 2010 and the shelling of Yeonpyeong-do Island later in the same year.<br />The talks are part of ongoing efforts by the two Koreas to implement the Panmunjom Declaration from the April 27th inter-Korean summit, which includes reducing military tension and building trust.<br />The discussions have even more meaning as today marks the 68th anniversary of the start of the Korean War.<br /><br />That's all I have for now-- I'll keep you updated throughout the day.<br />Semin. <br />
