North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the second day of a session of the Supreme People's Assembly, the North's parliament, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, Sept. 29, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the next day. Yonhap

South and North Korea restored their direct communication lines Monday, about two months after they were suspended due to Pyongyang's protest against an annual combined military exercise of South Korea and the United States.

The move raises hopes for the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue that has been stalled amid a drawn-out deadlock in denuclearization talks and the Korea peace process.

The two sides had contact through a military hotline and a separate joint liaison office channel, according to related authorities here.

Hours earlier, North Korea's state media announced that the lines would be back to normal operation as of 9 a.m. on the day.

The South's government immediately expressed hope for the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue.

The reconnection of the communication lines is viewed as having "laid the ground for bringing the relations between the two Koreas back on track," the unification ministry said in a statement.