[USFK Forums] Korea to hold Red Cross talks amid calls for return of POWs [Yonhap]

[C. Y. Lee]

Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Monday, February 20, 2006

Koreas to hold Red Cross talks amid calls for return of POWs

2006/02/20 10:34

SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- South and North Korea will this week hold a new round of Red Cross talks during which Seoul hopes to address a number of humanitarian issues, such as South Korean abductees and prisoners of war (POWs) still kept captive in the communist North.

The new round, the seventh of its kind, is to be held from Tuesday through Thursday in the North's Geumgang mountain resort.

One of the main topics is the upcoming rounds of reunions between families separated by the division of the Koreas, but the South Korean government says it will also address the issues of South Korean POWs and abductees in the communist state.

During a December round of inter-Korean ministerial talks on South Korea's Jeju Island, the sides agreed to "resolve humanitarian issues of mutual interest" at the upcoming Red Cross talks.

It remains to be seen whether Seoul will be able to win North Korean concessions on such issues, as Pyongyang generally, if not only, refers to the issue of separated families when discussing humanitarian issues.

Seoul believes at least 485 people have been kidnapped by the North since the end of 1950-53 Korean War, and that tens of thousands of South Korean soldiers were taken to the communist state at the end of the fratricidal war.

The North has long refused to discuss the issues of South Korean abductees and prisoners of war, claiming no one has ever been held against his or her will in the North.

Despite the ongoing dispute over South Koreans still kept in the North, the Koreas have seen significant rapprochement following the first-ever meeting of their leaders in 2000.

More than 10,000 people from both sides have been reunited with their separated family members since the summit between then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

Three rounds of family reunions via special video linkups since last year have also allowed hundreds of people to be reunited with their long-lost relatives for the first time since the end of Korean War.

The Koreas are to hold a new round of video reunions on Feb. 27-28, followed by the 13th round of family reunions in the North Korean mountain resort from March 20 through March 25.

bdk@yna.co.kr


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