The unification ministry said the North sent a fax message to the South‘s national security advisor Kim Kwan-jin on Oct. 7 shortly after the navies of the two sides exchanged gunfire near the disputed Yellow Sea border. The message, delivered through a military hotline, was signed by Hwang Pyong-so, the director of the Korean People‘s Army General Political Bureau. (…)

Hwang‘s fax message to Kim gave credence to speculation that they have established some sort of bilateral communication channel.