ID :
81893
Sun, 09/27/2009 - 00:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/81893
The shortlink copeid
(3rd LD) Separated Korean families meet in first reunion event in two years
(ATTN: ADDS dinner comments by Red Cross chiefs, other details, minor edits)
MOUNT KUMGANG, North Korea, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- For nearly half a century, the
family of Lee Kwae-seok, who went missing at the outbreak of the Korean War in
1950 after being conscripted by the South Korean military, thought that Lee died
during the three-year war.
On Saturday, however, 79-year-old Lee, who has actually been living in North
Korea, appeared in front of his younger brother Jung-ho, 76, who voluntarily
joined the military in 1952 just to find him.
"Are you Jung-ho?" "Ah, brother I really wanted to see you," cried the two
brothers at a reunion event organized by the Red Cross of the two Koreas.
They were among hundreds of South and North Korean who met their long-lost
families separated by the war, the first government-arranged reunions in two
years and one of the most visible reconciliatory steps between the two sides
after protracted tensions on the peninsula.
Ninety-seven elderly South Koreans traveled across the demilitarized zone and met
with 240 relatives at the Mount Kumgang resort on North Korea's east coast,
according to press pool reports. More than three-quarters of the participants are
70 or older.
On Sunday, the participants will hold separate, private meetings. The South
Koreans are scheduled to return the following day.
In the second segment of the event from next Tuesday also at the same venue, 99
North Koreans will be reunited with 449 relatives living in the South.
Lee has been living in North Korea after being captured in 1950 soon after the
outbreak of the Korean War. His younger brother Jung-ho joined the South Korean
military two years later to find his whereabouts, serving for 12 years in futile
efforts.
In 1960, the South Korean military concluded that Lee Kwae-seok died during
battle. His family found out just three months ago that he has been living in
North Korea all these years.
About 600,000 people in the South are believed to have family in the North. The
first round of cross-border reunions was held in 1985, and they became a
semi-regular event from 2000 after a historic inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang.
But as inter-Korean ties began to fray, the reunions were halted in 2007.
The reunions this time, the result of a dramatic agreement last month between the
North's leader Kim Jong-il and Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of South Korea's
Hyundai Group -- a major investor in the cash-strapped nation -- will be held in
two separate, three-day long, back-to-back events.
The two-hour meeting Saturday afternoon was held at a facility dedicated for the
reunions of separated families that was completed in July of last year but had
been left empty for more than a year amid souring of inter-Korean ties.
Also included among the participants from the North were two South Korean
fishermen who were taken to the North in 1987 after their boat strayed into
Northern waters.
"I'm so pleased to see you. I missed you so much," cried Roh Soon-ho, a 50-year
old South Korean when she saw her younger brother, Sung-ho, one of the captured
fishermen.
"I got married here, went to college and am living well here," Sung-ho, 48, told
his sister. He brought along his wife and his 21-year old daughter to the
reunion.
The venue was filled with tears as soon as the families met with their lost
relatives. North Korea's Jung Wan-shik, 68, burst into tears after meeting his
95-year-old father, Chung Dae-chun.
"Why is it that you come back now when you promised to come back from Seoul
soon," the son cried, embracing his long-lost father. Chung Dae-chun often
traveled between Seoul and his hometown of Pyeongsan in the North, but was later
forced to settle in the South after the war broke out.
The father was clearly heartbroken after he was told that his wife, daughter and
another son in the North had all passed away.
Candidates from the South were first selected through a computer lottery, with
the final lists being drawn from applicants whose relatives were located, giving
priority to immediate family members and the elderly.
The reunions are a highlight of the North's recent good-will gestures, which have
also included the easing of cross-border traffic to and from a South Korean-run
industrial park in Kaesong, North Korea.
Inter-Korean tensions mounted after the conservative government of President Lee
Myung-bak came to power in the South last year. Lee toughened up on the North's
nuclear drive and suspended massive aid, and in response North Korea boycotted
dialogue and suspended the family reunions.
The mood further chilled in July last year after a North Korean soldier in the
Mount Kumgang resort area shot and killed a South Korean tourist who had strayed
into an off-limits military zone.
South Korean Red Cross President Yoo Chong-ha, who traveled to the North with the
South Korean families, urged that the reunions, a humanitarian project, be
regularized.
"The Red Cross officials of the two Koreas should work together to ensure the
reunions do not end as a one-time event," Yoo said at a dinner hosted by the
North side for the families.
Jang Jae-on, head of North Korea's Red Cross, called for the people of the two
Koreas to work together to "open the door to unification." He said that the
implementations of accords from the past two inter-Korean summits would guarantee
"the future" of the two Koreas.
North Korea demands that Seoul follow through with the accords of 2000 and 2007,
reached between North Korean leader Kim and liberal South Korean Presidents Kim
Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun. Roh's conservative successor, Lee Myung-bak, suspended
unconditional aid to the North and toughened up on its nuclear program.
Political parties in the South were united in welcoming the resumption of the
family reunion, also urging that the events be held on a regular basis.
"Whatever happens, and despite any difficulty, such humanitarian exchanges should
transcend the ideological barrier," Rep. Cho Yoon-sun, spokesperson for the
ruling Grand National Party, said in a commentary. "We wish the reunions will be
regularized until the day of reunification."
The main opposition Democratic Party also expressed hope that the reunions will
"serve as a decisive chance" to thaw frosty inter-Korean relations.
odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)
MOUNT KUMGANG, North Korea, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- For nearly half a century, the
family of Lee Kwae-seok, who went missing at the outbreak of the Korean War in
1950 after being conscripted by the South Korean military, thought that Lee died
during the three-year war.
On Saturday, however, 79-year-old Lee, who has actually been living in North
Korea, appeared in front of his younger brother Jung-ho, 76, who voluntarily
joined the military in 1952 just to find him.
"Are you Jung-ho?" "Ah, brother I really wanted to see you," cried the two
brothers at a reunion event organized by the Red Cross of the two Koreas.
They were among hundreds of South and North Korean who met their long-lost
families separated by the war, the first government-arranged reunions in two
years and one of the most visible reconciliatory steps between the two sides
after protracted tensions on the peninsula.
Ninety-seven elderly South Koreans traveled across the demilitarized zone and met
with 240 relatives at the Mount Kumgang resort on North Korea's east coast,
according to press pool reports. More than three-quarters of the participants are
70 or older.
On Sunday, the participants will hold separate, private meetings. The South
Koreans are scheduled to return the following day.
In the second segment of the event from next Tuesday also at the same venue, 99
North Koreans will be reunited with 449 relatives living in the South.
Lee has been living in North Korea after being captured in 1950 soon after the
outbreak of the Korean War. His younger brother Jung-ho joined the South Korean
military two years later to find his whereabouts, serving for 12 years in futile
efforts.
In 1960, the South Korean military concluded that Lee Kwae-seok died during
battle. His family found out just three months ago that he has been living in
North Korea all these years.
About 600,000 people in the South are believed to have family in the North. The
first round of cross-border reunions was held in 1985, and they became a
semi-regular event from 2000 after a historic inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang.
But as inter-Korean ties began to fray, the reunions were halted in 2007.
The reunions this time, the result of a dramatic agreement last month between the
North's leader Kim Jong-il and Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of South Korea's
Hyundai Group -- a major investor in the cash-strapped nation -- will be held in
two separate, three-day long, back-to-back events.
The two-hour meeting Saturday afternoon was held at a facility dedicated for the
reunions of separated families that was completed in July of last year but had
been left empty for more than a year amid souring of inter-Korean ties.
Also included among the participants from the North were two South Korean
fishermen who were taken to the North in 1987 after their boat strayed into
Northern waters.
"I'm so pleased to see you. I missed you so much," cried Roh Soon-ho, a 50-year
old South Korean when she saw her younger brother, Sung-ho, one of the captured
fishermen.
"I got married here, went to college and am living well here," Sung-ho, 48, told
his sister. He brought along his wife and his 21-year old daughter to the
reunion.
The venue was filled with tears as soon as the families met with their lost
relatives. North Korea's Jung Wan-shik, 68, burst into tears after meeting his
95-year-old father, Chung Dae-chun.
"Why is it that you come back now when you promised to come back from Seoul
soon," the son cried, embracing his long-lost father. Chung Dae-chun often
traveled between Seoul and his hometown of Pyeongsan in the North, but was later
forced to settle in the South after the war broke out.
The father was clearly heartbroken after he was told that his wife, daughter and
another son in the North had all passed away.
Candidates from the South were first selected through a computer lottery, with
the final lists being drawn from applicants whose relatives were located, giving
priority to immediate family members and the elderly.
The reunions are a highlight of the North's recent good-will gestures, which have
also included the easing of cross-border traffic to and from a South Korean-run
industrial park in Kaesong, North Korea.
Inter-Korean tensions mounted after the conservative government of President Lee
Myung-bak came to power in the South last year. Lee toughened up on the North's
nuclear drive and suspended massive aid, and in response North Korea boycotted
dialogue and suspended the family reunions.
The mood further chilled in July last year after a North Korean soldier in the
Mount Kumgang resort area shot and killed a South Korean tourist who had strayed
into an off-limits military zone.
South Korean Red Cross President Yoo Chong-ha, who traveled to the North with the
South Korean families, urged that the reunions, a humanitarian project, be
regularized.
"The Red Cross officials of the two Koreas should work together to ensure the
reunions do not end as a one-time event," Yoo said at a dinner hosted by the
North side for the families.
Jang Jae-on, head of North Korea's Red Cross, called for the people of the two
Koreas to work together to "open the door to unification." He said that the
implementations of accords from the past two inter-Korean summits would guarantee
"the future" of the two Koreas.
North Korea demands that Seoul follow through with the accords of 2000 and 2007,
reached between North Korean leader Kim and liberal South Korean Presidents Kim
Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun. Roh's conservative successor, Lee Myung-bak, suspended
unconditional aid to the North and toughened up on its nuclear program.
Political parties in the South were united in welcoming the resumption of the
family reunion, also urging that the events be held on a regular basis.
"Whatever happens, and despite any difficulty, such humanitarian exchanges should
transcend the ideological barrier," Rep. Cho Yoon-sun, spokesperson for the
ruling Grand National Party, said in a commentary. "We wish the reunions will be
regularized until the day of reunification."
The main opposition Democratic Party also expressed hope that the reunions will
"serve as a decisive chance" to thaw frosty inter-Korean relations.
odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)
