North and South Korea family reunions, Representatives from North Korea and South Korea are set to discuss holding the first reunions of war-torn families in more than 18 months as their leaders seek to lower border tensions.
Red Cross officials from the countries will meet at the border village of Panmunjom to discuss arrangements, following marathon talks last month that led to an agreement between senior security advisers of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Park Geun Hye to end a military standoff. Discussions start at 10 a.m. South Korean time, Yonhap News reported.
Monday’s meeting signals a further de-escalation of the worst military standoff since early 2013. The agreement last month set out ways to improve ties, including reunions of families separated during the Korean War -- a conflict that ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
“Both Koreas will need to assure one another of the sincerity of their intention to improve relations,” said Hong Soon Jick, a senior fellow at the Hyundai Research Institute in Seoul. “For now they’ve clearly moved out of a crisis phase.”
Having ratcheted down tensions with North Korea, Park said last week her government should now focus on revitalizing an economy that grew in the second quarter at the slowest pace in two years. Her approval rating rose to the highest in a year and a half, providing a boost for her reforms at the mid-point of her single, five-year tenure.
North Korea has used family reunions in the past to push for a revival of South Korean tours to Mount Geumgang, where the event was last held. The resort once generated hundreds of millions of dollars for North Korea before visits from South Korea were suspended over the death of a tourist shot by a North Korean guard in 2008.
War Footing
In Pyongyang, Kim is concentrating on preparations for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party, seeking to turn the Oct. 10 commemorations into a highlight of his leadership.
He put his troops on a war footing last month after South Korea turned on loudspeakers blaring propaganda across the demilitarized zone. As the standoff eased, Kim praised the agreement with South Korea as a “turning point” for ties.
Kim is trying to make good on a promise to raise living standards, made several months after taking power in late 2011. His reforms appear to have helped “a portion” of North Koreans while the food security situation in the country remains tenuous, the Congressional Research Service said in a July report.
Millions of Koreans were separated from their families during the 1950-53 war. About 22,000 have been reunited temporarily through visits since 1985 and 66,000 South Koreans are still waiting, according to the Unification Ministry in Seoul.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sam Kim in Seoul at skim609@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Davis at abdavis@bloomberg.net Andy Sharp, Rosalind Mathieson
Red Cross officials from the countries will meet at the border village of Panmunjom to discuss arrangements, following marathon talks last month that led to an agreement between senior security advisers of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Park Geun Hye to end a military standoff. Discussions start at 10 a.m. South Korean time, Yonhap News reported.
Monday’s meeting signals a further de-escalation of the worst military standoff since early 2013. The agreement last month set out ways to improve ties, including reunions of families separated during the Korean War -- a conflict that ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
“Both Koreas will need to assure one another of the sincerity of their intention to improve relations,” said Hong Soon Jick, a senior fellow at the Hyundai Research Institute in Seoul. “For now they’ve clearly moved out of a crisis phase.”
Having ratcheted down tensions with North Korea, Park said last week her government should now focus on revitalizing an economy that grew in the second quarter at the slowest pace in two years. Her approval rating rose to the highest in a year and a half, providing a boost for her reforms at the mid-point of her single, five-year tenure.
North Korea has used family reunions in the past to push for a revival of South Korean tours to Mount Geumgang, where the event was last held. The resort once generated hundreds of millions of dollars for North Korea before visits from South Korea were suspended over the death of a tourist shot by a North Korean guard in 2008.
War Footing
In Pyongyang, Kim is concentrating on preparations for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party, seeking to turn the Oct. 10 commemorations into a highlight of his leadership.
He put his troops on a war footing last month after South Korea turned on loudspeakers blaring propaganda across the demilitarized zone. As the standoff eased, Kim praised the agreement with South Korea as a “turning point” for ties.
Kim is trying to make good on a promise to raise living standards, made several months after taking power in late 2011. His reforms appear to have helped “a portion” of North Koreans while the food security situation in the country remains tenuous, the Congressional Research Service said in a July report.
Millions of Koreans were separated from their families during the 1950-53 war. About 22,000 have been reunited temporarily through visits since 1985 and 66,000 South Koreans are still waiting, according to the Unification Ministry in Seoul.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sam Kim in Seoul at skim609@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Davis at abdavis@bloomberg.net Andy Sharp, Rosalind Mathieson
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