The North Korean strategy appears designed to pressure South Korea to break with the United States, its treaty ally, according to many analysts. invitations as a “cunning” distraction meant to disguise U.S. In a speech last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismissed the U.S. offers to hold talks without preconditions. North Korea has rejected or ignored near-daily U.S. Seoul’s Ministry of Unification, which handles ties with the North, said it believes Pyongyang’s decision to reopen the hotlines will lay the foundation for an extended period of friendlier cross-border relations.īut even as it reaches out to South Korea, the North has given no indication it wants to restart talks with the United States. South Korea’s left-leaning government, which for two years has tried to coax North Korea back to talks, is cautiously optimistic. The two Koreas remain in a technical state of war, since their 1950s conflict ended in a truce instead of a peace treaty. North Korean officials have also signaled bigger moves may be coming, including another summit between the countries’ top leaders and talks on ending their formal state of war. North Korea this week took initial steps toward improving ties with South Korea, restoring hotlines meant to manage inter-Korean tensions. After nearly two years of international isolation worsened by a severe pandemic lockdown, North Korea is hinting it may finally be ready for dialogue - just not with the United States.