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Two Koreas Edge Closer to Prisoner, Families Deal
North and South Korea on Thursday appeared to edge closer to a landmark agreement on the thorny issues of the repatriations of former prisoners and family reunions.
The South Korean Red Cross proposed to repatriate former North Korean prisoners in September, after the two Koreas hold reunions in August for families who were separated due to the Korean War in the early 1950s, according to reports from a pool of South Korean reporters covering the talks.
But North Korean delegation leader Choi Seung-chul has insisted the reunions be preceded by the repatriations of former prisoners, the reports said.
Park Ki-ryun, head of the South Korean delegation, said Seoul needed time to prepare for the transfers but would repatriate the North Koreans in early September.
The proposed reunions for 100 family members from each side are scheduled for August 15 - the day both Koreas celebrate the end of Japanese occupation after World War Two.
Park added he was optimistic that the talks, being held at North Korea's Mount Kumgang resort, would reach an agreement on the two sensitive issues later on Thursday.
Independent groups say a total of 88 former prisoners from North Korea are living in the South, of which 59 want to return to the North. Seoul has not said how many of these people it would be willing to repatriate.
Seoul freed many of these people, who Pyongyang terms political prisoners, from jail last year after long imprisonments, but they remain barred from leaving the country without prior government permission.
Pyongyang's Choi indicated that the North might agree to establish a regular meeting point for separated families, probably at Kumgang, to make reunions an ongoing event.
The two sides had failed to reach an accord on the timing and scope of family reunions in the previous meeting held on Tuesday.
The talks follow the historic inter-Korean summit earlier this month, where South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il signed a landmark pact, which included plans to arrange reunions.
Reunions have been held only once, in 1985, when 50 people from each side were allowed to meet their long-lost relatives.
The Red Cross talks are scheduled to end on Friday.
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