Regular traffic across the heavily fortified border dividing the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will be restored this week, officials in Seoul said yesterday amid further signs of improved relations between the two nations.

The DPRK's state radio station, meanwhile, quoted leader Kim Jong-il as saying that the US should abandon its "hostile policy" toward the DPRK and sign a peace treaty with the nation to reduce tension on the peninsula. His comments echoed statements he has made in the past. Pyongyang Radio didn't say when Kim made the remarks.

The resumption of regular border traffic between the DPRK and the ROK, set for today, is the latest indication of efforts by Pyongyang to reach out to Seoul and Washington, after months of provocations that included nuclear and missile tests.

The DPRK had severely restricted traffic across the border since December. The clampdown affected the flow of goods and personnel to and from a joint factory park in the northern city of Kaesong.

The border will open 23 times a day to traffic to and from Kaesong, up from the current six times, Seoul's Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung told reporters yesterday. The number of people and vehicles allowed to cross the border at one time will no longer be restricted, he said.

Kaesong is home to some 110 ROK-run factories that employ about 40,000 DPRK workers. The project is the most prominent symbol of the inter-Korean cooperation that prospered under two liberal ROK presidents following the Koreas' first-ever summit in 2000.

The reconciliation process and most joint projects came to a halt after conservative President Lee Myung-bak took office early last year. The DPRK protested Lee's tough policies, such as linking aid to the impoverished neighbor to nuclear disarmament.

But in August, Pyongyang freed two American journalists and an ROK worker held for more than four months of detention, agreed to resume joint projects and set a date for the reunion of families separated during the Korean War.

Pyongyang also sent an official delegation to Seoul to mourn the death of former ROK president Kim Dae-jung, who met with DPRK leader Kim Jong-il during the 2000 Korean summit.

(China Daily via agencies September 1, 2009)