Mt. Geumgang tour program, Key Resolve remain variables
By Chung Min-uck
Seoul will propose today more reunions of families separated by the Korean War in mid-February before the launch of joint military exercises with the U.S., a government official said Sunday.
Pyongyang offered Friday to resume the long-suspended inter-Korean events after the Lunar New Year's Holiday, which ends on Feb. 2, and suggested Mt. Geumgang, a scenic mountain resort on the North's east coast, as the location.
South Korea welcomed the proposal, but has yet to respond officially.
"We are not in a situation to further delay our response on this urgent matter of reuniting families," a government official said, adding that a reply will come today.
Government sources say Seoul will suggest the reunions be held in mid-February and is expected to select up to 100 people for the event. That is because Seoul and Washington are scheduled to hold their annual Key Resolve exercise from late February to early March and North Korea previously warned that the joint military drill will increase tension on the Korean peninsula.
Most experts expressed optimism the next set of reunions will actually happen.
"Because the North didn't link it with the talks for restarting the inter-Korean Mt. Geumgang tours this time, it is highly likely that the family reunions will be held," said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korea studies at Dongguk University. "Unless the North again offers to hold talks about the tourism project or some military issues, a last-minute cancellation by the North is unlikely."
The South has long considered the reuniting of separated families a humanitarian issue, thus it is able to engage with the North at any time regarding such matters.
South Korean-sponsored tours to the Mount Geumgang resort have been suspended since early 2008 when a tourist from the South was shot dead by a North Korean guard there.
North Korea is eager to have South Korea resume the tours because the influx of money helped the poverty-ridden country. Seoul maintains that it won't agree to restart the tours unless Pyongyang assures that another violent incident will not take place.
Meanwhile, South Korea plans to formally notify North Korea and China early next month of its plan to conduct the Key Resolve command post exercise.
According to sources, the notification will emphasize that the exercise is an annual defensive drill, and that that this year's exercise will be similar in scale to those of previous years.
North Korea has long denounced these maneuvers as a rehearsal for an invasion of the Stalinist nation, though the South and the U.S. have repeatedly said that the drills are defensive in nature.
By Chung Min-uck
Seoul will propose today more reunions of families separated by the Korean War in mid-February before the launch of joint military exercises with the U.S., a government official said Sunday.
Pyongyang offered Friday to resume the long-suspended inter-Korean events after the Lunar New Year's Holiday, which ends on Feb. 2, and suggested Mt. Geumgang, a scenic mountain resort on the North's east coast, as the location.
South Korea welcomed the proposal, but has yet to respond officially.
"We are not in a situation to further delay our response on this urgent matter of reuniting families," a government official said, adding that a reply will come today.
Government sources say Seoul will suggest the reunions be held in mid-February and is expected to select up to 100 people for the event. That is because Seoul and Washington are scheduled to hold their annual Key Resolve exercise from late February to early March and North Korea previously warned that the joint military drill will increase tension on the Korean peninsula.
Most experts expressed optimism the next set of reunions will actually happen.
"Because the North didn't link it with the talks for restarting the inter-Korean Mt. Geumgang tours this time, it is highly likely that the family reunions will be held," said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korea studies at Dongguk University. "Unless the North again offers to hold talks about the tourism project or some military issues, a last-minute cancellation by the North is unlikely."
The South has long considered the reuniting of separated families a humanitarian issue, thus it is able to engage with the North at any time regarding such matters.
South Korean-sponsored tours to the Mount Geumgang resort have been suspended since early 2008 when a tourist from the South was shot dead by a North Korean guard there.
North Korea is eager to have South Korea resume the tours because the influx of money helped the poverty-ridden country. Seoul maintains that it won't agree to restart the tours unless Pyongyang assures that another violent incident will not take place.
Meanwhile, South Korea plans to formally notify North Korea and China early next month of its plan to conduct the Key Resolve command post exercise.
According to sources, the notification will emphasize that the exercise is an annual defensive drill, and that that this year's exercise will be similar in scale to those of previous years.
North Korea has long denounced these maneuvers as a rehearsal for an invasion of the Stalinist nation, though the South and the U.S. have repeatedly said that the drills are defensive in nature.
![[INTERVIEW] Busan has potential to be world-class city, says mayor](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/b58861f810524e18a4ade3af8c9351f9.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
