Korea 24 - 2021.10.04

Korea24 &ndash; 2021.10.04. (Monday)<br /> <br /> News Briefing: Direct communication lines linking South and North Korea have been restored, 55 days after Pyongyang stopped taking the daily calls in protest of an annual combined military exercise between South Korea and the United States. Calls were confirmed at the joint liaison office as well as two military hotlines along the western and eastern coasts. (Eunice Kim)<br /> <br /> In-Depth News Analysis: In Japan, Fumio Kishida formally took office on Monday after a parliamentary vote, becoming the nation&#039;s 100th prime minister. He will immediately be faced with a general election at the end of the month, but beyond that, he will be tasked with leading the nation out of the other side of the pandemic, and ensure the recovery of the economy. To learn more about what challenges lay ahead for Kishida, and what his foreign policy might look like, especially when it comes to Seoul-Tokyo relations, Brad Glosserman, the deputy director of and visiting professor at the Center for Rule-Making Strategies at Tama University in Japan, joins us on the line.<br /> <br /> Korea Trending with Walter Lee: The number of car accidents involving minors driving rental cars without a license have been on the rise, according to authorities (면허도 없이 렌터카 빌린 청소년들, 사고는 증가세). Meanwhile, a college student, who was offered a free ride on the bus after forgetting his bus pass, has paid back the driver with a handwritten letter and 30 tumblers for him and his colleagues (버스카드 놓고 온 대학생에 &quot;그냥 타&quot;&hellip;선행 베푼 기사에 텀블러&middot;손편지 보답). And finally, the smash hit Korean Netflix series &lsquo;Squid Game&rsquo; has become first to top the daily charts in all 83 regions where the streaming service operates. (&lsquo;오징어게임&rsquo; 83개국 모두서 1위 신기록)<br /> <br /> Monday Sports Round-up: The MLB regular season is over, and only 2 of the 6 Korean players that featured this year are heading off to the playoffs. Ryu Hyun-jin of the Toronto Blue Jays got some personal redemption on the fin