Two Koreas communicate under unified standard time zone

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - South and North Korea communicated on Tuesday under their unified time zone for the first time in nearly three years, a unification ministry official said, Yonhap reports.

The North called South Korean officials through the liaison office established at the truce village of Panmunjom at 9:03 a.m., the official said on condition of anonymity.

"This appears to be a follow-up on the North's announcement to return to the unified time zone effective on May 5," he told reporters on condition of anonymity. "Now we see an end to the abnormal situations that have been caused by the difference in standard times,"

During a summit with President Moon Jae-in last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also mentioned the decision to move its clock back to the same time as the South.

The North's Korean Central News Agency recently quoted the North's leader as saying that unifying the time zone is "the first practical step for national reconciliation and unity."

The reports came as North Korea and the United States are preparing to hold their unprecedented summit talks that will likely deal with the North's denuclearization as a major issue.