S. Korea to push for reunion of separated families

SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will put the issue of cross-border
reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War on the front burner if
talks resume with North Korea, a high-ranking government official said Saturday.
"If inter-Korean talks resume, the reunions of separated families from South and
North Korea will be put on the front burner," said Hong Yang-ho, South Korea's
vice unification minister, in a meeting with families from South Korea.
"Limited and temporary reunions of separated families are not enough to meet
their demands," Hong said, adding the government will make efforts to resolve
differences between the two sides.
Last month, the two Koreas held a week-long reunion for about 400 separated
families for the first time since the Lee Myung-bak administration was
inaugurated last year. The two sides, however, failed to reach agreement on
holding subsequent reunions.
The reunions began following the historic first inter-Korean summit in 2000. More
than 127,000 people in the South have since signed up for the reunions, though
nearly a third of them have since died of old age. About 1 in 800 is selected.
About 16,000 people have been reunited through face-to-face unions so far. The
number of South Koreans believed to have family in the North is estimated at
600,000.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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