North Korea has reopened a hotline to South Korea, almost two years after it was disabled on the orders of leader Kim Jong-un.
A South Korean uses the hotline to talk to North Korean officers in 2005. Photo: AFP
South Korea confirmed it had received a call from the North at 15:30 local time on Wednesday.
The North Korean leader had earlier said he was open to dialogue with Seoul and to sending a team to the Winter Olympics in the South next month.
The two nations have not held high-level talks since December 2015.
North Korea cut off the communications channel shortly afterwards, refusing to answer calls, according to officials in the South.
A North Korean official announced the hotline's reopening in a televised statement.
Instead of a senior newscaster, the chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, Ri Son-gwon, made the statement, saying he was speaking "upon authorisation of Kim Jong-un".
The initial call was brief as checks are still being carried out on the line, according to South Korean officials.
North Korea said the aim would be for the two nations to discuss the practical issues around sending a North Korean delegation to the Winter Games in Pyeongchang.
The press secretary for South Korea's President Moon Jae-in said the restoration of this communications channel was "very significant".
"It creates an environment where communication will be possible at all times," he said.
In the press, there was scepticism. "Kim's New Year's address is a highly calculated move to fuel internal division in South Korea," said daily newspaper JoongAng Ilbo. "Pyongyang may have decided on its peace offensive to buy time until the completion of its nuclear weapons programme."
Hankyoreh newspaper also voiced caution: "Kim has not budged an inch from his previous reckless and hard-line stance on the development of nuclear weapons and missiles."
But the "surprising New Year's address could open the door to peace", it added.
Military conflict possible
A showdown between North Korea and the United States later this year is still a distinct possibility, according a local strategic expert.
On New Years Day, Mr Kim warned the United States that he had a nuclear button on his desk and was ready to use it.
To which US President Donald Trump responded saying his button was much bigger and more powerful.
Victoria University Professor of Strategic Studies, Dr Robert Ayson said the high level chest beating between Mr Trump and Mr Kim, doesn't reassure anyone that the chance of a military confrontation is diminishing.
But, he said, the opening up of the hotline could kick-start diplomacy as long as North Korea picks up the phone when the south rings - and vice versa.
He also warned that the hotline has been opened up before, but North Korea only used it to make unacceptable demands.
And he said if South Korea does agree to something the US wouldn't approve of, then you end up with a division between the two allies.
Dr Ayson said this all adds up to a very jarring and confusing picture coming out of the region, particularly when you add the possibility of North Korea testing another nuclear missile in the near future, which the American administration will not stand for.
Many international relations experts have forecast a 25 percent chance of military action on the Korean Peninsula and Dr Ayson said it's not quite clear whether diplomacy is going to provide the answer, so we still might be headed for a showdown later this year. But there's a possibility the opening of the hotline could slow things down a bit.