Koreas may hold another family reunion in October

Park Choon-ja from the South, right, kisses her older sister from the North during a reunion event on Saturday. / Joint Press Corps

By Kim Bo-eun, Joint Press Corps

The two Koreas agreed on the need to hold another round of separated family reunions within this year, and the head of South Korea's Red Cross said this could be in late October.

“My North Korean counterpart Pak Yong-il and I discussed holding another family reunion like the one being held now within this year,” South Korea's Red Cross President Park Kyung-seo said in a press conference held at Mount Geumgang in the North, Saturday.

Park said the Koreas will discuss the date at working-level meetings, but said the event could be held “in late October, considering weather conditions.”

It appears it would be best to hold the event before the winter in consideration of participants, as most of them are elderly.

“Around 3,000 to 4,000 separated family members pass away each year. It appears family reunions in this form will be difficult seven to 10 years from now,” Park said.

He also discussed with his North Korean counterpart continuing the search for surviving long-lost relatives, enabling regular meetings and video chats between separated families, as well as visits to their hometowns.

Because enabling meetings and exchanges between separated family members is a humanitarian issue, such efforts are set to continue regardless of the situation concerning North Korea's denuclearization. There is also less burden on the part of the South Korean government as the reunions have little to do with sanctions on North Korea.

“As a humanitarian project, these efforts will continue,” a unification ministry official said, Sunday.

This week's reunions are the first to be held since the leaders of the South and North met in April and agreed on resuming the event.

Sunday was the final day of a week-long event that enabled South and North Koreans to meet long-lost relatives, separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. Participants took pictures with each other and exchanged addresses.

“I am happy but sad at the same time. I am 80 and my brother is nearly 90 _ we have lived long enough. This will be our last meeting. It would be nice if the Koreas would be unified soon…” Cho Sang-yong from the South said. Cho met with his older brother from the North.

Participants said tearful goodbyes and bade each other well.

“It is sad because we have to part as soon as we have met. I wish my older brother good health,” said Lee Kyung-ja, 74, from the South. Lee met with her older brother in the North.

“Eat a lot of nuts and exercise and we will be able to meet again. You have to be alive,” Jang Chang-hwan, 74, from the South, told his older sister from the North. Jang's sister Ki-soon, 77, did not say anything but tears ran down her face.

“She is so fragile. It breaks my heart,” Chang-hwan said.

Tasks ahead

“The reunions up until now have been a kind of one-off event _ there have not been follow-up meetings,” said Ko Yoo-hwan, a professor at Dongguk University.

“They need to be able to exchange letters and meet regularly. Because the surviving separated family members are elderly, they should be able to meet regardless of the political situation between the Koreas.”

Data from the unification ministry shows 85 percent of surviving separated family members are in their 70s and older.

“The separated family members should be able to call each other up and meet,” said An Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies.

“This is a humanitarian issue. The surviving 56,000 people's wishes should be granted,” he said.

Of the 132,603 South Koreans who have registered as separated family members, 56,862 are still alive, according to ministry data.