Korean nations talk to re-unite 1950 war families
Seoul officials confirmed that North and South Korea began talks at a border village on continuing the reunions of relatives divided by the Korean War in the early 1950s. The discussion among the rivals at Panmunjom were made feasible after they signed a compromise earlier this month that eased hostility at the borders (that had been threatening war).
After the Korean War of 1953, several families were separated from their relatives in the division of the Korean-peninsula. Since then, there has been little to no contact between families on the either side. The case of the divided families is a grave humanitarian issue as most families have no knowledge of the fate of their relatives on the other side of the border.
The Korean war (1950-53) was a war of ideologies where North Korea became a Soviet subsidiary and South Korea was aided by the United States and formed under the guidance of the United Nations.
100 North Koreans met their long-lost families in Seoul for a 3-day reunion with their South Korean relatives. The families that attended the reunion were chosen out of thousands of people in a lottery draw. The reunions were not just aimed to help the estranged families but were a huge step forward to clear the air between the two Koreas.
North and South Korea agreed to let the reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War take place. This is the first such meeting in the last three years. South Korea's Unification Ministry, which is responsible for relations with the North said 100 people from each side will be allowed to meet family members from September 25-30 at North Korea's Diamond Mountain resort.
The reunion between the Korean families expected in September 2013 was canceled by Pyongyang with only a few days notice, accusing Seoul of souring ties between the two countries.
North Korea proclaimed it would endlessly defer the reuniting because of Seoul's "reckless and vicious confrontational racket" against Pyongyang. A North Korean declaration denounced South Korea of 'preparing war drills' against North Korea. South Korea's Unification Ministry condemned the North's order as an 'inhumane' one. South Korea said Pyongyang cannot achieve anything by hindering the exchange and starting a confrontation.
Families were reunited at a North Korean mountain resort after the thawing of relations in 2014. Since November 2010, this was the 1st reunion for the families and was a result of painstaking negotiations reflecting the strained relations between North and South Korean governments. Most of the participants were in their 70s and 80s and perhaps the last time they were seeing their family
The South Korean government condemned North Korea's contention that the family reunions would take place only when the United States and South Korea terminated joint military drills. Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee reiterated his country's stance that the military exercises were "defensive, routine drills that should be unrelated to family reunions." He said it was 'inappropriate' for North Korea to link the two issue.
