South Korea’s unification ministry on Thursday welcomed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s expressed interest in restoring inter-Korean communication lines, vowing to “prepare” promptly for the potential reconnection.

In a policy speech on the second day of a Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) session, Kim suggested reconnecting the hotlines in “early October” to improve inter-Korean relations.

“The ROK Government has been consistently maintaining its position that the South-North communication liaison lines must be restored as soon as possible,” a unification ministry spokesperson said in response to Kim’s speech. 

The ministry added that the Moon Jae-in administration anticipates not only the hotline