Separated Koreans part again in tears with no hope of reunion

By Kim Kwang-tae and Joint Press Corps SOKCHO, South Korea, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) -- Hundreds of South Koreans returned home Tuesday after a three-day trip to North Korea for their first, and perhaps last, reunions with their North Korean relatives they had not seen since the 1950-53 Korean War. The arrival of 357 South Koreans in the east coastal city of Sokcho came hours after they bade tearful farewell to 88 elderly North Korean relatives at Mount Kumgang, a scenic resort on the North's east coast. Sokcho is located about 210 kilometers east of Seoul. Earlier Tuesday, they were given only about 50 minutes in their final reunions before they were separated again under a second round of three-day reunion programs arranged by the Red Cross of the two Koreas. "Brother, brother, how can I live without you?" Park Jong-soon, a 68-year-old South Korean, wailed as she grabbed her 88-year-old North Korean brother's hand sticking out of a bus window. Park Jong-song, the brother who ended up in North Korea after being forcibly taken to the North's military during the conflict, tried to console his three sisters from South Korea, saying, "We can meet again if we stay healthy." During the three-day reunions, they met for just about 11 hours. Their separation underscores the painful division of the Korean Peninsula following the Korean War, which ended in a cease-fire rather than a peace treaty. The reunions were the second set in a week. On Saturday, 80 elderly South Koreans, accompanied by 56 family members, returned home from the mountain resort after a first round of three-day reunions with their North Korean relatives. South and North Korea arranged the family reunions as part of their recent deal meant to improve bilateral relations that worsened last year due to the North's third nuclear test, and its threats of war against Seoul and Washington. Jeong Gi-deok, an 83-year-old brother from North Korea, told his 71-year-old South Korean brother to meet again as they hugged each other in tears. Still, their wish for another reunion appears unlikely during their lifetime as the rival Koreas remain technically in a state of war. The division keeps ordinary citizens from the rival Koreas from meeting, making phone calls, and sending letters and emails to each other, though some illegal channels exist. Last year, the two Koreas agreed to make efforts to ensure that they can stage family reunions on a regular basis and exchange letters among separated family members to fundamentally address the pressing humanitarian issue. Still, no progress has since been made. South Korea says time is running out for tens of thousands of elderly people who wish to see their long-lost relatives before they die. Millions of Koreans remain separated across the border. The Koreas have held more than a dozen rounds of reunions since their landmark summit in 2000, bringing together more than 21,700 family members who had not seen each other since the Korean War. More than 129,200 South Koreans have applied for temporary reunions with their family members and relatives in North Korea since 1988, according to government data. Among them, more than 57,700 people, or 44.7 percent of the applicants, have died, according to the data. Chang Yong-seok, a North Korea expert at Seoul National University, said North Korea views inter-Korean contact through the family reunions as a political issue that can harm its political system. The North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the two Koreas should use the latest round of family reunions as a starting point for improved relations between the two sides. Still, in the latest sign of lingering tensions, a North Korean patrol ship violated the tensely guarded western sea border several times Monday night before retreating to its waters. The incident, which South Korea believes was intentional, came as South Korea and the United States began their annual joint military drills despite the North's repeated calls to stop them. The North has frequently denounced South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises as a rehearsal for invasion. Seoul and Washington say their annual exercises are designed to heighten their defense posture against possible provocations from North Korea. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the Korean War. (END)