A South Korean government official communicates with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea side via the communication channel in Panmunjom, South Korea, on Jan. 3, 2018. (Photo: Xinhua/Ministry of Unification of the Republic of Korea)

Seoul (People’s Daily) – The two Koreas on Thursday spoke to each other for the second time following the reopening of the cross-border hotline, as an attempt to hold talks on the North's possible participation in the Winter Olympics held in the South.

The Korean Unification Ministry, said a North Korean liaison official called his South counterpart on the border village of Panmunjom at 9:30 am local time to check the line.

A ministry official said that the South asked whether the North needed to notify of anything and the North replied “No," saying that if they have something to say, they will contact the South, Yonhap News reported.

South Korea on Wednesday contacted North Korea through the cross-border hotline for the first time since the inter-Korean communication channel was cut in February 2016. Earlier in the day, the North said it would reopen the dialogue line at Panmunjom to begin discussions on sending a North Korean delegation to the Winter Olympics.

All these moves came a day after Seoul proposed high-level talks with Pyongyang over its participation in the Winter Olympics in the wake of the North Korean leader's New Year's Day address, in which Kim Jong-un said the country is willing to send a delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea and is ready to have inter-Korean talks over the matter.

Yonhap News quoted an official at the Korean Unification Ministry as saying that the two Koreas did not discuss any details, and that the South will wait for the North's reply in a calm manner and review the next steps.

(Source: Yonhap News)