North Korea Limits Family Reunions

EOUL — 

Limits placed by North Korea on the upcoming inter-Korean family reunions could be a sign of the difficult road that lies ahead to implement the recent denuclearization agreements made by Kim Jong Un.

North and South Korea agreed last week to allow 100 separated family members from each side of the border to meet at the North’s Mount Kumgang resort from August 20 to 26.

Race against time

“The scope of the agreement and the event is very disappointing because there are at least 50,000 registered separate family members alive in South Korea alone,” said Bong Young-shik, a political analyst with the Yonsei University's Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul.

Millions of Korean families were forced apart by the division of the country at the end of World War II. There are now close to 56,000 registered separated family members in South Korea, according to Ministry of Unification. Almost all of them are over 70 years old.

“The reunion of separated families is an urgent problem that is racing against the clock due to the increasing number of deaths each day,” said Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean defector and analyst with the World Institute of North Korean studies.