SEOUL(AP) – The two Koreas restored an important cross-border communication channel on Wednesday, though South Korea still rejected North Korea's calls for talks meant to defuse high tensions.

The North cut off the Red Cross communication line at the border village of Panmunjom last year when tension spiked over the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship blamed on Pyongyang. Relations between the Koreas further soured following a North Korean artillery attack that killed four South Koreans on a front-line island in November.
The North, however, has recently proposed resuming talks with South Korea. It also made conciliatory gestures Monday, offering to restore the Red Cross line and allowing South Korean officials back into a joint factory park in the North.
Seoul has so far rebuffed the dialogue offer as a ploy for aid, saying the North must demonstrate responsibility for last year's two attacks and take steps toward nuclear disarmament before talks can be held.
South Korea, however, decided to let telecommunication workers from the two Koreas restore the Red Cross line — which is used for exchanging messages on humanitarian issues such as reunions of separated families, according to Seoul's Unification Ministry.