Koreas agree to family reunions
Print Edition
North and South Korea agreed yesterday to allow reunions next month of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, the first such meetings in three years.
Under the agreement, 100 people from each country will be allowed to meet family members between September 25 and 30 at North Korea’s Diamond Mountain resort, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said.
And 40 people from each side will also be allowed to hold talks by video conference on October 22 and 23.
The countries also agreed to meet later to discuss possible November reunions.
The Korean War separated millions of families, and huge numbers of refugees moved both north and south.
Most don’t even know whether their relatives are still alive because the two countries bar citizens from exchanging mails, phone calls and e-mails.
South Koreans who want to meet relatives must apply for a permit, and applicants are then chosen by lottery. Most of the people applying for permits are over 70. Nearly 56,000 of the roughly 129,000 applicants have died.
The two Koreas also agreed yesterday to work toward a “fundamental resolution” of the issue of separated families, by making the reunions regular events, allowing families to exchange letters and find out whether their loved ones are still alive, the Unification Ministry said.
As North Korea has toned down its animosity in recent weeks, the rival Koreas have pushed closer to reopening a jointly run factory park in North Korea. Pyongyang pulled out of the venture in April as part of its furious response to UN sanctions over its February nuclear test and to annual military drills by Seoul and Washington.
North Korea has proposed another set of talks focusing on lucrative, jointly run tours to Diamond Mountain.
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