[USFK Forums] S. Korea proposes regularizing family reunions with N. Korea [Yonhap]

[C. Y. Lee]

Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Wednesday, February 22, 2006

(2nd LD) South Korea proposes regularizing family reunions with North Korea

2006/02/22 17:19

Mount Geumgang, North Korea, Feb. 22 (Yonhap) -- North Korea counter-proposed Wednesday that special reunions be held in June for an increased number of separated family members in both sides of the border, South Korean officials said.

The North also suggested holding two special rounds of family reunions via video conferencing marking the historic June 15, 2000 inter-Korean summit and the Aug. 15 anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, they said.

The North's proposal came in response to South Korea's suggestion earlier in the day that the humanitarian program be expanded drastically in terms of frequency and the number of people to be reunited.

The project to help reunite separated families is a major by-product of the 2000 inter-Korean summit. North Korea attaches great significance to the summit which has spurred wide-ranging cross-border exchanges.

When Red Cross officials from both sides opened the second day of their planned three-day meeting at this North Korean tourist enclave on Wednesday, South Korea proposed staging eight reunions a year, one in each quarter and four more to mark as many major commemorative days in both countries, including the Lunar New Year's Day and the Aug. 15 Korean liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

South Korea also suggested that the expanded reunions be regularized.

Without responding to the South's proposal to regularize the expanded programs, North Korean officials insisted that a special round of face-to-face reunions be held only to mark the June anniversary, with the number of people to be reunited from each side to be doubled to 200, South Korean officials said.

The North also proposed holding special reunions through video conferencing in June and August, they said.

The Koreas have held three rounds of video reunions since last summer and 12 rounds of face-to-face reunions since 2000.

Hundreds of thousands of Koreans remain separated in both sides of their border since the Korean War ended in 1953, of whom about 12,000 so far have temporarily been reunited under Red Cross-arranged programs.

South Korea has been trying to expand the programs but North Korea has so far been reluctant to comply, apparently believing that such moves could unsettle its tightly controlled communist society. Under a previously negotiated deal, 40 separated family members from each side are set to be reunited through video conferencing on Feb. 27-28, while 100 more from each side will be allowed to travel to this Northern tourist site on March 20-25 for face-to-face reunions.

Apparently to encourage North Korea to make concessions, South Korea on Wednesday decided to accept the North's earlier demand for 150,000 tons of free fertilizer this spring and 30,000 tons in the latter part of the year.

South Korea is the largest donor for its impoverished communist neighbor. Last year, it gave the North 350,000 tons of fertilizer and 500,000 tons of food for free.

Reuniting separated family members in both Koreas is a highly emotional issue as most are in their 80's or 90s and do not have long to live. A few thousands of them in the South are believed to have died in the past year, according to Seoul government officials.

There were no reports of progress on South Korea's demand for North Korea to account for hundreds of its citizens believed be still alive in the communist country after being taken there during or after the war.

According to Seoul's data, over 500 South Korean soldiers taken prisoner during the 1950-53 war are believed to be still alive in the North, along with some 480 civilians, mostly fishermen, who were seized after the war.

A few dozen former South Korean POWs from the Korean War have successfully traveled to South Korea via China after escaping the communist North.

North Korea has denied holding any South Koreans against their will but it has allowed some of them to meet their parents and other relatives from South Korea as part of the Red Cross-arranged separated family reunions. In the first-day meeting on Tuesday, the North's chief negotiator, Choi Sung-ik, showed interest in continuing the project of separated family reunions but failed to mention the POWs and other civilian abductees, according to South Korean delegation officials.

Inter-Korean relations have warmed considerably since the 2000 summit but the two sides are still technically at war, because the Korean War ending in a ceasefire, not in a peace treaty.

One of South Korea's major security concerns is North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Six-nation talks aimed at resolving the nuclear tension have been stalled since late last year.

South Korean officials believe that better Seoul-Pyongyang relations would help resolve the nuclear tension which erupted in 2002 when U.S. officials accused North Korea of pushing a uranium-enrichment program to make arms in violation of international accords.

bdk@yna.co.kr


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[eddiev9]

I find it so amazing that even after 50+ years there are still people alive to be reunited.