Park hints at broader inter-Korean exchanges

By Kang Seung-woo

President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday that South and North Korea can advance toward a peaceful unification should Pyongyang uphold their recent joint agreement.

Her remark hints that the South is willing to resume exchanges and cooperation with the North depending on the latter’s sincerity.

On Aug. 25, the two Koreas reached a six-clause deal, aimed at defusing tension on the Korean Peninsula and improving strained inter-Korean ties after four days of marathon talks at the border village of Panmunjeom.

“We can move toward the path of cooperation for peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula if we implement this hard-won agreement well,” Park said during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae.

Her reference to the peace accord follows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s comments Friday describing the agreement as a landmark occasion that could put inter-Korea relations back on track for reconciliation and trust.

This was the first time for Park to openly mention the peace accord.

Hours after the agreement was struck, Park said through her spokesman Min Kyung-wook that she hoped the deal could serve as an occasion to resolve all inter-Korean issues through trust.

According to the joint agreement, the two Koreas agreed to arrange reunions of separated family members around the Chuseok holiday and to hold a working-level Red Cross meeting in early September. The traditional Thanksgiving holiday falls on Sept. 27.

Afterward, they agreed to hold Red Cross talks next Monday to discuss the reunions after Pyongyang accepted Seoul’s proposal for the meeting.

Park hoped that the working-level talks will clear the ground for reunions of families divided by the 1950-53 Korean War, and furthermore, hold the event on a regular basis.

“More than anything, I hope the two Koreas will stage the reunions without a hitch to ensure separated family members can resolve their deep sorrow,” Park said.

“Beginning with this event, the two sides need to discuss having more frequent family reunions in the future.”

The two Koreas last held family reunions in February of 2014 at the Mount Geumgang resort in the North ― for the first time in more than three years ― with about 2,200 South Koreans meeting relatives from the North.

According to the unification ministry, nearly 130,000 people have been registered as separated family members since 1988, but only 66,000 remain alive. Half of these people are 80 and older.