According to Yonhap news agency, on February 10, South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yung Ho said the government will continue to promote the reunion of families separated by the Korean War (1950-1953).
Kim Yung Ho made the remarks after attending an annual gathering of separated families and North Koreans born in the North but now living in the South. They visited the border town of Paju in Kyunggi Province to pay their respects to their ancestors and relatives in the North on the occasion of the Lunar New Year.
Speaking at the event, Minister Kim Yung Ho affirmed that the government will not give up pursuing fundamental solutions to issues related to separated families. He stressed that Seoul will remain willing to talk with Pyongyang on humanitarian issues.
Any efforts to resolve inter-Korean humanitarian issues must begin with restoring inter-Korean communication channels, Minister Kim Yung Ho said, calling on North Korea to normalize the communication channel that Pyongyang severed in April 2023.
In recent years, many elderly members of separated families in South Korea have passed away without having the chance to meet their relatives in North Korea due to the tense inter-Korean relations. South Korean government data shows that the number of living separated family members as of the end of November 2023 was 39,881, of whom 65.6% were 80 years old or older.
Since a landmark summit in 2000, South and North Korea have held 21 rounds of family reunions, the most recent in 2018.
In 2022, South Korea proposed to hold talks with North Korea on the issue of reuniting separated families, but North Korea has not responded to the proposal.
NGUYEN KHANG
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