Seoul – North Korea announced on Saturday it was reconnecting its so-called military “hotline” with its southern neighbour.

The isolated communist regime had cut the hotline two weeks ago in protest at a joint US-South Korean military exercise, deeming the troop maneouvres as preparations for a possible attack.

Pyongyang also announced it would reopen routes to the industrial park in Kaesong, just north of the border zone between the two feuding states, according to the South Korean Unification Ministry in Seoul.

North Korea uses the hotline to coordinate supplies and crossings of what is still one of the most militarized borders in the world.

For the past fortnight South Korean commuters working at the Kaesong plant have been barred from entering the north, but now a special shuttle service has been reconnected.

The industrial complex employs around 35,000 low-paid North Koreans, working for around 90 South Korean companies, making a host of products like kitchen appliances, shoes, clothes and watches.

Despite its political incongruity, the industrial complex is seen as essential for North Korea’s supply of foreign exchange currency.

As tensions on the peninsula heightened, the North Korean People’s Army announced on March 9 it was “fully prepared for war.”

Despite international attempts at mediation, the reclusive regime in the north has accused Seoul of a policy of “confrontation.”

Pyongyang is believed to have a nuclear capability and is currently planning the launch of what it insists is a communications satellite – and has warned that any attempt to shoot it down will be a declaration of war. (dpa)