On Monday, North and South Korea restored key communication hotlines, seemingly pausing several weeks of escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korean state media reported last Thursday that leader Kim Jong Un had expressed a “willingness” to restore inter-Korean communication lines again starting in “early October” to improve relations with Seoul — quickly raising the hopes of the Moon Jae-in administration for a “last-ditch” breakthrough with North Korea.

A day later, however, Pyongyang announced the successful launch of an “anti-aircraft missile,” capping a month of weapon tests that included a hypersonic missile and a train-launched