Hundreds of Korean families reunite in North Korea

Jeong Geon-mok, 64, one of the 25 men kidnapped by North Korea in the 1972 abduction of the South Korean trawler, Odaeyang, wipes the tears from his mother's face, Lee Bok-soon, 88, at Mount Geumgang, North Korea, Saturday. / Yonhap

A group of 90 families consisting of around 250 South Koreans reunited with their separated North Korean family members on Saturday at the scenic resort of Mount Geumgang in North Korea.

The reunion began with a group meeting at 3:15 p.m. As soon as the meeting started, family members wept, then smiled, then wept again, according to Joint Press Corps reports.

This is the second three-day reunion in this round and will last through Monday. The first three-day reunion ended Thursday.

The families in the second group, in their 80s and 90s, are visibly older than those in the first. They have not seen their lost kin in more than 60 years. The oldest participant from South Korea is 98-years-old, and from North Korea, 88.

Koo Sang-yeon, 98, from South Korea who bought new shoes for his two daughters, wept after reuniting with them.

Koo Sang-yeon, 98, of South Korea reunites with his two daughters, Song-ok, 71, and Seon-ok, 68, at Mount Geumgang, North Korea, Saturday. / Yonhap

From the North, Jeong Geon-mok, 64, who was taken to the North in the 1972 kidnapping of the South Korean trawler, Odaeyang, reunited with his mother, Lee Bok-soon, 88.

The reunions that began this week are the first since February 2014. Amid heightened tensions, South and North Korean officials agreed on the reunions amid the dramatic agreement reached on Aug. 25 to defuse military tension and bolster bilateral dialogue.

In the wake of the inter-Korean summit of 2000, the two Koreas have held 19 rounds of reunions that over the years have brought some 18,800 separated family members face-to-face, if only for a few days. About half of the estimated 129,700 South Koreans who are on the waiting list for the reunions, though, have passed away. As the two Koreas remain technically at war, tension often prevails over the Korean Peninsula.

Speaking at the National Assembly the previous day, Lee Byung-kee, presidential chief of staff, said that the government would do its best to make the reunions of the separated families regular and more frequent events. As for inter-Korean relations at large, Lee added that the government would vigorously pursue dialogue with the North Koreans, yet at the same time stand firm against their provocations.

Lee Seok-ju, 98, of South Korea cries after meeting his son who lives in North Korea, Saturday. / Yonhap

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