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After defusing tensions, two Koreas plan for Sept. 7 family reunions

August 28, 2015
North Koreans take the hands of their departing South Korean family members (on bus) as they bid farewell following their three-day family reunion at the North Korean Mount Kumgang resort, on September 28, 2009. (Yonhap)

North Koreans take the hands of their departing South Korean family members (on bus) as they bid farewell following their three-day family reunion at the North Korean Mount Kumgang resort, on September 28, 2009. (Yonhap)

By Yi Whan-woo

The South Korean government said Friday that a proposal to hold working-level talks on Sept. 7 about a reunion of family members separated by the 1950-53 Korean War has been sent to North Korea.

The Ministry of Unification said Korean Red Cross President Kim Sung-joo made the offer in a message sent to her Pyongyang counterpart Kang Su-rin.

Kang is the chairman of the central committee of the Red Cross Society of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The Korean Red Cross, a non-governmental body, customarily has served as a major channel on issues over inter-Korean family reunions.

Both Koreas are among 189 members of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the world’s largest humanitarian organization.

“The message was delivered through a dialogue channel in Panmunjeom at 9:50 a.m.,” unification ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee said, referring to the truce village in the demilitarized zone (DMZ). “The message asked for Red Cross officials from the two sides to meet at the House of Peace in Panmunjeom to discuss having separated families get together as agreed to by the two Koreas in their high-level talks this week.”

The talks were aimed at defusing tension and improving multifaceted dialogue in the wake of North Korea’s landmine attack on Aug. 4 and the exchange of artillery fire between the two Koreas across the tensely-guarded border on Aug. 20.

The agreement calls for the two sides to arrange reunions for those who have parents, children, siblings and relatives during the Chuseok holidays this year. The traditional Korean holidays fall over four days beginning Sept. 26.

The Seoul and Pyongyang branches of the Red Cross have been the organizers of inter-Korean family reunions since August 1971 when their officials first discussed the issue separately from their governments.

“It’s important to note the government nowadays oversees the work of the Korean Red Cross over issues about separated families. Any related progress can only be made with our approval,” said an official at the unification ministry’s Separated Families and Humanitarian Cooperation Division on condition of anonymity. “The Korean Red Cross consulted us before sending its message to the North on Friday.”

Nineteen face-to-face family reunions have taken place since 1985. The last event occurred in February 2014 when around 2,200 South Koreans, mostly in their 70s and 90s, met their family members and relatives in the North.

NK leader stresses reconciliation

Seoul’s proposal came after Korean leader Kim Jong-un underscored the significance of the inter-Korean agreement, saying, “It directed inter-Korean relations to paths of reconciliation and trust when they were on the verge of near-collapse.”

“The joint agreement is significant in a way that it serves as the turning point (for Seoul-Pyongyang ties) by defusing military tension,” he was quoted as saying by Korean Central Television, Friday.

“The outcome is the victory of our ideology that cares about our people and values peace.

“We should cherish the agreement and make it productive and fruitful,” he added.

The unification ministry welcomed his remarks, saying “The government expects North Korea to faithfully carry out what we have agreed to do.”

Meanwhile, Kim dismissed some members of the Central Military Commission under the Workers’ Party, according to Yonhap News Agency, Friday.

The Seoul-based media outlet said the decision was made during a meeting among the commission members. It remains uncertain when and why Kim Jong-un made such move, it added.