Hundreds of South Koreans privately met with their loved ones from North Korea in their hotel rooms Sunday, as part of the second round of reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
The 254 South Koreans, or 90 families, met their North Korean relatives for the first time in six decades Saturday at a scenic resort on Mount Kumgang in North Korea.
A two-hour lunch is planned at Kumgangsan Hotel later Sunday, with another two-hour group reunion wrapping up the day at 4:30 p.m.
This event follows the first round of reunions involving another 96 families that ended Thursday.
The family reunions, the first since February 2014, are the outcome of a landmark deal that South and North Korea reached on Aug. 25 to defuse military tension and resume the family reunions.
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said Sunday that South Korea is making multifacted efforts to make communication and reunions among separated Korean families easier.
“The government is making extensive efforts to enable separated families to meet and visit their hometowns regularly,” Hwang said in a speech at a sports event for people who hail from now North Korean territory. “Seoul is also doing its utmost to fundamentally solve the issue of separated families.”
“A son met his father for the first time in 65 years. A couple meets after their hair has turned gray. These kind of sad reunions have touched our people,” he said. “We have a serious lack of reunions, and these families aren’t getting any younger.”
There are more than 66,000 South Korean family members separated by the Korean War, which ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving South and North Korea technically at war. (Yonhap)
