The tearful reunion of families separated across the border for more than 60 years is a stark reminder of the legacy of the Korean War that has technically not ended.
Elderly parents well into their 80s shed tears upon meeting with their children, some of whom were mere babies when they were separated by the war. Each of the 389 South Koreans and 141 North Koreans gathered at Mount Geumgangsan resort on North Korea’s east coast -- for what would most likely be their one and only meeting with loved ones living across the border -- had a story to tell.
A series of six meetings from Tuesday through Thursday totaled a mere 12 hours, hardly enough time to catch up for the families who had not heard from each other since a truce halted the war in 1953. Before the reunion, many of the people were not even sure if their families were still living across the border. For the separated husbands and wives, separated parents and children, and separated siblings for whom these meetings may be the last time that they ever meet, those 12 hours were filled with joy, sorrow and despair. One can only imagine their heartache when they said their last goodbyes. Another round of reunions is scheduled Saturday through Monday in which 250 South Koreans will meet with their North Korean family members.
This week’s reunions are the first since February 2014, ironically an outcome of the South-North talks in late August that ended a military standoff. Reunions of separated families have been sporadic since the first one was held in 2000. In the past 15 years, 20 rounds of face-to-face reunions have been held in addition to seven rounds of reunions via video.
Some 130,000 South Koreans are registered as having families in the North, but half of them have already passed away. Now about 66,000 people, most of them elderly, remain on the waiting list for reunions. Time is quickly running out for these people -- tragic victims of the war -- and ways must be found as soon as possible to let the separated families meet at least once during their lifetime.
While Seoul has been pressing for reunions to be held regularly, Pyongyang has been offering reunions piecemeal, using them as leverage to serve the interests of the regime. Such exploitation of a humanitarian issue is deplorable and should be stopped. North Korea should agree to video reunions, email exchanges, regular reunions and to verify whether the separated family members are living.
