High-level talks raise hope for family reunion

By Yi Whan-woo

The high-level talks between the two Koreas over the weekend have fueled optimism for a reunion of families separated in the aftermath of the 1950-53 Korean War.

The meeting at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmumjom in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) involved Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo, South Korea’s point-man on the North, among four high-level officials from the two sides.

Hong’s presence has triggered speculation that he may have had a chance to share Seoul’s plan with the North Korean officials to hold a reunion by the end of this year in coordination with Pyongyang, according to government sources.

With a dwindling number of surviving members of the separated families, President Park Geun-hye vowed on Aug. 15 to update the list of survivors here by next month.

According to the Ministry of Unification, nearly 130,000 people were registered here between 1988 and July 31.

However, only 66,000 remain alive and half of them are 80 or older.

If held, this will be the second round of reunions among separated families since Park took office in February 2013. The previous one took place September 2013.

Government sources speculate Pyongyang is highly likely to demand favors in exchange for holding the reunions.

The cash-strapped regime has repeatedly asked the Park government to resume its tour program to Mount Geumgang, a scenic resort in North Korea. It has also called for Seoul’s May 24 sanctions to be scrapped. The punitive measure bans all trading activities between the two Koreas except for the inter-Korean industrial park in Gaeseong, North Korea. Seoul imposed the measures on May 24, 2010 in retaliation for Pyongyang’s sinking of the South Korean naval frigate Cheonan in March of the same year.