The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) informed South Korea that the inter-Korean military communication will be resumed on Saturday, the South Korean Defense Ministry said Friday.

According to Defense Ministry Spokesman Won Tae-jae, the DPRK notified South Korea of the decision by fax through the joint inter-Korean industrial complex.

The inter-Korean military communication will be resumed at local time 8:00 a.m. Saturday (2300 GMT Friday), Won said.

Friday's decision came on the occasion of the end of the joint military drills, in which about 26,000 U.S. troops and over 50,000 South Korean soldiers participated.

The DPRK had repeatedly expressed protests against the joint military drills and asked for the cancellation of the military exercises. However, the U.S. military and South Korean military insisted that their annual drills were "defense-oriented, focusing on military readiness posture."

In protest of the military drills, the DPRK warned on March 5 that it will not assure the safety of South Korean passenger planes flying over the territory east of its coastal line. Later, South Korea's two major airline companies ordered their planes to change course to avoid flying over DPRK's airplace.

On March 9, the DPRK announced to cut off the inter-Korean military communication channel, resulting in delays of South Korean employees and trucks in traveling cross the inter-Korean borders.

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2009)