Two Koreas exchange lists of participants for family reunions

SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) -- The two Koreas on Thursday exchanged finalized lists
of people who will participate in upcoming reunions of families separated by the
Korean War over half a century ago, South Korean officials said.
Arranged by Red Cross offices on both sides, family reunions were launched in
2000 as an outcome of the historic first inter-Korean summit that year. The
gatherings were suspended in late 2007 as Pyongyang boycotted inter-Korean
dialogue, but the North agreed last month to restart the humanitarian project in
one of the latest signs that it is adopting a more reconciliatory stance toward
the South.
The two sides exchanged the lists, bearing the names of 100 people each who will
participate in two separate, back-to-back events to be held at the scenic Mount
Kumgang resort on the North's east coast from Sept. 26 to Oct. 1., the ministry
said.
About 600,000 people in the South are believed to have kin in the North from whom
they have been separated since the 1950-53 Korean War. Candidates 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.
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