MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has announced his willingness to restore communication channels with South Korea in early October, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday, citing North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

According to the media outlet, Kim Jong-un made the statement in an address to the fifth session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly. According to the agency, the move will be aimed at improving relations and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea cut off communication channels with Seoul on June 9, 2020, in response to the cross-border launch of balloons carrying propaganda leaflets, which Pyongyang considered to be a hostile act violating bilateral peace agreements. Later, Pyongyang also blew up an inter-Korean liaison office in the border city of Kaesong. Communication lines were restored for a while in late July but North Korea stopped responding to calls after joint US-South Korea drills had kicked off.