ID :
77383
Fri, 08/28/2009 - 15:10
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/77383
The shortlink copeid
Koreas close to agreement on family reunions
(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES with new pool report on progress in talks)
By Kim Hyun
MOUNT KUMGANG, North Korea, Aug. 28 (Yonhap) -- South and North Korea were
nearing an agreement on reunions for families separated by the Korean War in
their final round of negotiations early Friday, as Seoul toned down demands on
war prisoners and missing civilians, officials here said.
In a joint statement to be announced later in the day, the two sides will set a
new round of family reunions -- the first in nearly two years -- for Sept. 26 to
Oct. 1, shortly before the traditional holiday of Chuseok, according to South
Korean officials. The venue will be the North's Mount Kumgang resort, they said.
South Korea withdrew its earlier demand to put into a joint statement issues
regarding South Korean prisoners of war and civilians believed to have been
kidnapped by the North during the Cold War. Pyongyang insists it is not holding
anyone against their will.
"As the North is limiting these talks to the reunions around Chuseok, we are
going to give priority to that issue," a South Korean official participating in
the talks told pool reporters.
Specific locations for the reunions at the seaside mountain resort have yet to be
set, but Seoul officials were optimistic those minor differences will be
narrowed.
Family reunions, handled by Red Cross offices on both sides, were suspended in
late 2007 amid deteriorating political relations. North Korea cut off
inter-Korean dialogue after President Lee Myung-bak came to power 18 months ago,
taking a tough stance on North Korea's nuclear program and ending unconditional
aid to the impoverished state.
The conservative Lee government has been more outspoken than its liberal
predecessors about the North's human rights conditions, particularly issues of
South Korean POWs and citizens who were allegedly kidnapped -- mostly fishermen
-- during the Cold War era. Seoul estimates about 1,000 of them are still being
held in the North.
Since family reunions began in 2000 as an outcome of the first inter-Korean
summit that year, North Korea has located only 25 of them to be temporarily
reunited with their South Korean families.
Seoul initially asked for the reunions to be held on a regular basis, considering
that many of the applicants are elderly, but decided to put off the issue until
future discussions, officials said.
"North Korea has insisted this meeting remain focused on the Chuseok event, so we
won't keep pushing for (the regularization of reunions)," the official at the
talks said.
For a single round, each side chooses 100 people to reunite with their relatives
from the other side of the border. About 600,000 South Koreans are believed to
have relatives in the North. Ordinary citizens are not allowed to make phone
calls, send letters or exchange emails across the border.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
By Kim Hyun
MOUNT KUMGANG, North Korea, Aug. 28 (Yonhap) -- South and North Korea were
nearing an agreement on reunions for families separated by the Korean War in
their final round of negotiations early Friday, as Seoul toned down demands on
war prisoners and missing civilians, officials here said.
In a joint statement to be announced later in the day, the two sides will set a
new round of family reunions -- the first in nearly two years -- for Sept. 26 to
Oct. 1, shortly before the traditional holiday of Chuseok, according to South
Korean officials. The venue will be the North's Mount Kumgang resort, they said.
South Korea withdrew its earlier demand to put into a joint statement issues
regarding South Korean prisoners of war and civilians believed to have been
kidnapped by the North during the Cold War. Pyongyang insists it is not holding
anyone against their will.
"As the North is limiting these talks to the reunions around Chuseok, we are
going to give priority to that issue," a South Korean official participating in
the talks told pool reporters.
Specific locations for the reunions at the seaside mountain resort have yet to be
set, but Seoul officials were optimistic those minor differences will be
narrowed.
Family reunions, handled by Red Cross offices on both sides, were suspended in
late 2007 amid deteriorating political relations. North Korea cut off
inter-Korean dialogue after President Lee Myung-bak came to power 18 months ago,
taking a tough stance on North Korea's nuclear program and ending unconditional
aid to the impoverished state.
The conservative Lee government has been more outspoken than its liberal
predecessors about the North's human rights conditions, particularly issues of
South Korean POWs and citizens who were allegedly kidnapped -- mostly fishermen
-- during the Cold War era. Seoul estimates about 1,000 of them are still being
held in the North.
Since family reunions began in 2000 as an outcome of the first inter-Korean
summit that year, North Korea has located only 25 of them to be temporarily
reunited with their South Korean families.
Seoul initially asked for the reunions to be held on a regular basis, considering
that many of the applicants are elderly, but decided to put off the issue until
future discussions, officials said.
"North Korea has insisted this meeting remain focused on the Chuseok event, so we
won't keep pushing for (the regularization of reunions)," the official at the
talks said.
For a single round, each side chooses 100 people to reunite with their relatives
from the other side of the border. About 600,000 South Koreans are believed to
have relatives in the North. Ordinary citizens are not allowed to make phone
calls, send letters or exchange emails across the border.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
