[USFK Forums] Koreas fail to narrow differences on POWs [Korea Herald]

[C. Y. Lee]

Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Saturday, February 25, 2006

Koreas fail to narrow differences on POWs

The Korea Herald, Friday, February 24, 2006

The two Koreas yesterday agreed to work toward resolving the issue of South Korean prisoners of war and abductees believed to be held in the North. But they failed to narrow differences over concrete measures to identify whereabouts.

"Both sides agreed to negotiate and resolve the issue of the separated families, including those whose fate remains unknown from during and after the (Korean) war," delegates to inter Korean Red Cross talks said in a joint statement. The three day meeting at Mount Geumgang in the North closed yesterday.

Seoul believes 538 South Korean POWs and 486 civilian abductees are in the North. The communist state has denied the claim and calls them "people whose fate is unknown during or after the war."

During the talks, the North rejected the South's request to launch a separate dialogue to address their fate.

The two countries also agreed to hold two video reunions in June and August and to increase the number of divided families from 40 to 60 for each reunion.

The two Koreas are to celebrate the sixth anniversary of their historic inter Korean summit on June 15, and the 61st anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule on Aug. 15.

Both sides will also allow 200 separated families to meet for the face to face reunion in June, which was previously arranged for 100 families.

They also agreed to hold the next round of Red Cross talks sometime in June at Mount Geumgang.

Separately, the Unification Ministry said the two Koreas will hold working level meetings next week to discuss plans of reopening the inter Korean rail link broken since the Korean War.

The Feb. 27 28 meeting will be held at the North's border town of Gaeseong, focusing on setting a date to test run the rail route across the border.

"We will make our best efforts to conduct a test run of trains by March and reopen the railroad at the earliest date," Shin Un sang, newly appointed vice minister, told the reporters.

Both countries previously agreed to conduct the test runs by last October and officially reopen the railways last year, but no progress was made due to the North's lackluster response to the agreement.

Since the historic inter Korean summit in June 15, 2000, South and North Korea have agreed to re establish inter Korean rail links along the 248 kilometer long Demilitarized Zone.

(aibang@heraldm.com)


By Annie I. Bang


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2006.02.24