As time was running out for elderly relatives, Seoul on Thursday offered negotiations with Pyongyang to restore family reunions for thousands of families split apart by the Korean War.
The 1950–1953 Korean War tore apart millions of people, severing ties between husbands and wives, parents and children, and siblings.
The North and South formally remain at war, and the peninsula is divided by the impenetrable Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), where all direct civilian exchanges — including the exchange of routine family news — are prohibited. Hostilities ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
“Today, the South Korean government proposes to hold talks with the North to discuss the issue of separated families,” said Unification Minister Kwon Young-se.
“We will approach this dialogue with an open mind, and make sure to take into account the preferences of the North including the date, venue, agenda and format of the talks in a positive manner.”
With around 400 people passing away each month, 40,000 older family members in their 80s and 90s are running out of time, according to Kwon.
The idea comes as relations between the North and South are deteriorating, with Pyongyang accusing Seoul of being responsible for the Covid-19 outbreak on its soil and vowing reprisal.
Depending on the political climate at the time, the two sides occasionally conducted family gatherings.
The last such meeting was held in 2018, during a period of rapprochement between Seoul and Pyongyang with then South Korean president Moon Jae-in facilitating talks between former US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
However, because to differences over sanctions relief and what North Korea would be ready to give up in exchange, Kim and Trump’s nuclear negotiations collapsed in 2019.
Since then, Pyongyang has mostly severed ties with Seoul and conducted a flurry of weapons tests, including the first launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile at full range since 2017.
