Seoul

South Korea has been closely monitoring signs of the North reopening its border, which has remained closed for nearly two years due to the virus crisis, reports Yonhap News Agency.

"Signs of preparations to resume trade have been continuously detected, but it's not at a stage to say trade has resumed or the North Korea-China border lockdown has been lifted," Ministry spokesperson Lee Jong-joo said while addressing a briefing.

Earlier this month, local media broadcast footage of a train crossing the bridge over the Amnok River connecting Sinuiju in North Korea to the Chinese port city of Dandong.

South Korea and the US are coordinating humanitarian assistance to North Korea, though Pyongyang has remained unresponsive to Washington's dialogue overtures.

During Monday's briefing, Lee expressed disappointment over little progress in inter-Korean talks as Pyongyang stays silent on Seoul's proposal to set up a virtual conference system for dialogue.

"We find it regretful that the restoration of the communication channel has yet to result in setting up the infrastructure for dialogue, such as the video conferencing system as we proposed, or in substantive talks in different areas."

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