North and South Korea have restored suspended communication channels and agreed to improve their ties despite a 2 1/2-year stalemate in U.S.-led nuclear diplomacy.

President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reached the agreement during several exchanges of letters since April.

The move may help ease animosities, but it’s unclear whether Pyongyang would go as far as to revive previous vigorous cooperation programs with Seoul and return to the nuclear talks with Washington.

Tuesday is the 68th anniversary of the signing of an armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.