Seoul wants reunions regularized, held separate for POW, abductee families

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By Tony Chang
MOUNT KUMGANG, North Korea, Aug. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea continued to press
North Korea Thursday to regularize reunions of families separated by war for over
half century and demanded separate arrangements to bring together families of
prisoners of wars and those allegedly kidnapped by the North.
Officials from the two Koreas continued the Red Cross talks for the second day at
the North's Mount Kumgang resort following a recent agreement North Korean leader
Kim Jong-il reached with Hyun Jeong-eun, chief of South Korea's Hyundai Group, to
boost joint ventures and resume family reunions. Pyongyang's initial proposal was
to hold the reunions around the Korean holiday of Chuseok, which falls on Oct. 3
this year.
On the second day of negotiations, South Korean officials pressed the North to
hold follow-up reunions later this year and during next year's Lunar New Year
holiday as part of efforts to regularize the humanitarian event, pool press
reports said, citing an official from the Seoul delegation.
The South Korean delegation also raised the issue of South Korean prisoners of
war (POW) and civilian abductees, demanding they be included, but in an
arrangement separate from the other families.
"The issue of these people whose whereabouts became unclear during and after the
Korean War must be included in our agreement," the official said, adding that the
delegation was trying to persuade its counterpart.
South Korea has been pushing to include those missing citizens -- estimated at
around 1,000 -- in family reunions, while North Korea opposed the idea. Pyongyang
insists it holds no one against their will.
Seoul did not elaborate on a specific arrangement for them, but suggested the two
Koreas should have further "discussions" to find a solution. Pyongyang's
negotiators did not respond, and only focused on the upcoming Chuseok reunions,
according to the South Korean official. The two sides will continue negotiations
until Friday.
"We will try to reduce our differences as we still have today and tomorrow," the
official said.
The reunions were last held in October 2007 and stopped after political relations
chilled with the inauguration of President Lee Myung-bak last year, who linked
inter-Korean relations to progress in Pyongyang's denuclearization.
At Wednesday's meeting, the South Korean delegation proposed holding two separate
rounds, on Sept. 27-29 and Oct. 6-8, while the North proposed holding them Oct.
3-5 and Oct. 6-8.
For the venue, Seoul proposed a 12-story building it built last year for the
reunions at Mount Kumgang, but Pyongyang insisted on the Kumgangsan Hotel, where
this week's talks are being held.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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