Seoul won’t propose inter-Korean family reunions
By Lee Tae-hoon
South Korea will not seek a reunion of families separated between the two Koreas around Chuseok, Korea’s Thanksgiving Day that falls on Sept. 12, officials of the Unification Ministry said Wednesday.
“As of now, we have no plans to propose a family reunion to North Korea,” a ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
“In light of the current stalemate in inter-Korean relations, the mood is not right for us to suggest holding a reunion for displaced families.”
Earlier in the day, Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, head of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), called for the reunion of separated families in a biweekly radio address.
“I believe it is time to start untangling the knotty inter-Korean relations,” he said. “I urge the government to diversify ways to allow aging displaced family members of South and North Korea to meet by using video calls and other methods.”
The ministry, however, downplayed the significance of Hong’s speech, saying the GNP made no consultation with related ministries on the issue.
“There has not been any discussion, consultation or review whatsoever on the matter,” Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung told reporters during a regular briefing.
“As of today, we are not considering holding family reunions in early September on the occasion of Chuseok,” he said.
Asked how Seoul would respond if Pyongyang first proposes to hold a reunion, Chun declined to comment saying it would be inappropriate for him to speak about a hypothetical situation.
Seoul and Pyongyang have managed to hold inter-Korean family reunions only twice since the onset of the Lee Myung-bak administration in February 2008.
The first was held in 2009 on Chuseok at the Mt. Geumgang Resort in North Korea from Sept. 26 through Oct. 1.
The second was in late 2010, roughly a month after Chuseok, one of the biggest holidays of the year.
More than 90 percent of the displaced family members are aged 60 or older as they were separated as a result of the Korean War, which ended in 1953.
Of the 128,129 people who have applied for formal reunions with their families in the North, more than 40,000 died as of last year.
The ministry estimates that there are some 700,000 people who have family members left in the North, an official said.