More than 500 relatives from the divided Koreas were to meet yesterday for the first time after five decades of separation, as another round of family reunions begin amid growing reconciliation between the two Cold War rivals.
About 440 South Koreans left for North Korea's Diamond Mountain resort earlier yesterday for the reunions -- the 12th since the two Koreas agreed to promote peace and reconciliation at an unprecedented summit between their leaders in 2000. So far, more than 10,000 Koreans have held such reunions.
One hundred North Koreans were to spend time together with their long-lost relatives from the South for three days. The event is the first of a two-part series of reunions involving 200 families. On Tuesday, about 370 people from another 100 separated families are scheduled to begin similar three-day reunions at the mountain resort.
Millions of families remain separated following the division of the Korean Peninsula in 1945 and the 1950-1953 Korean War. There is no direct mail, telephone or other communication between ordinary citizens across the border.
Relations between the two Koreas have warmed significantly since the 2000 summit. Exchanges have flourished, but these have been largely limited to economic and social sectors and are often affected by tensions over political issues, such as the North's pursuit of nuclear weapons.
RSS