The border hotline was opened at 6.30am yesterday for talks after South Korea proposed on New Year’s Day that discussions should take place.

Both countries had previously suggested they were willing to try and improve diplomatic relations.

Pyongyang is said to have first called the South for 20 minutes to discuss technical matters and ensure the phones were working.

According to a spokesman for the South’s Unification ministry, Pyongyang then phoned about two hours later: “The North Korean side called our side at 6.07 pm (10.37 am GMT) and said 'let's call it a day today.’”

A third phone call then took place this morning.

According to the Unification Ministry, South Korea asked their counterparts if there was any news to which they replied “no, we will notify you when there is something new” and hung up.

Use of the hotline ceased in 2015 after Seoul suspended operations at the jointly-run Kaesong industrial complex following a nuclear test by Pyongyang.

South Korea has reportedly tried to make contact with the North twice a day over the past two years.

Explaining how the phones work Kim Yeon-cheol, who is a former South Korean communications officer, says there are two phones, a green one for Seoul to call North Korea and a red one for Pyongyang to phone the South.

He said: “We called them on odd dates, and North Korea called us on even dates.”

Yoon Young-chan, a spokesman for Moon Jae-in, South Korean Prime Minister, said the decision to re-open the hotline was an important step.

He said: “The reopening of a communications channel is highly significant because it is a step toward being able to hold dialogue anytime both sides want.”

The first direct communication between the countries since the closing of the Kaesong industrial complex came after the South suggested opening formal discussions about the North sending a delegation to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February.

Kim Jong-un used his New Year address to say that he was willing to start talking to his neighbours to organise an Olympic team to take to the international games.

He said: “The Winter Olympic games that will be held soon in the South will be a good opportunity to display the status of the Korean nation and we sincerely wish that the event will be held with good results.”

There had been fears Kim Jong-un would target the international games with a nuclear strike in retaliation to joint military drills between the South and US.

The South Korean and US military usually hold a military exercise in March and April which involves more than 300,000 troops as preparation work for any potential invasion from the regime.

However, the talk of progress comes amid speculation that Kim Jong-un’s corrupt state may be planning more missile tests.

Japanese media have reported that the dictator has ordered the construction of their largest missile yet and plan to launch it in September to coincide with North Korea’s 70th anniversary celebrations.