The governments of North and South Korea have agreed to restore their communications links.
The South Korean Presidential Office announced on Tuesday that the move is part of an effort to improve mutual relations.
The North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un unilaterally cut off all official communication channels to South Korea more than a year ago.
According to the presidential office in Seoul, the heads of state on both sides have been in personal correspondence since April.
The aim is to improve relationships, and the re-establishment of communication links is now the first step in that direction.
Dispute over leaflets from activists
North Korea announced the complete interruption of all official communication channels with South Korea in June of last year.
The background was a dispute over an action by South Korean activists who had sent leaflets across the border with critical messages about the policy of Pyongyang.
South Korean activists and North Korean refugees repeatedly send hot air balloons with leaflets across the border with North Korea denouncing the human rights situation and Pyongyang's nuclear program. The actions regularly cause enormous tensions between North and South Korea.