100 DPRK People Reunite With Their S.Korean Families in Seoul

Mother Meets Son in Seoul

In tearful reunions, 100 Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) people hugged and wept with their South Korean relatives Tuesday afternoon whom they had not seen more than 55 years.

The 3,600-square conference hall of the Conference and Exhibition Center in southern Seoul was overwhelmed with tears and cries of bitter joy for minutes when the 100 DPRK people were crying or screaming together with some 500 South Koreans in each other's arms.

The separated family members kept calling "Mom !" "Dad" "My son !""My daughter !" "Sister !" "Brother !" as if they were trying to heal the pain of decades of separation in a single moment with tears streaming ceaselessly down their cheeks.

The family reunions demonstrated that blood is thicker than water no matter how long the separated family members have lived in different societies.

Most South Koreans reportedly wept when they watched the reunion of these lucky families on TV because it reflected the reality of 55 years' national division and the dream of national reunification.

In another move to further reconciliation after the Pyongyang inter-Korean summit, Seoul and Pyongyang Tuesday morning exchanged 100 people from each side by air for the family reunions, timed with the 55th anniversary of liberation from the Japanese colonial rule on August 15, 1945.

"We (South and North) are now ushering in the era of the Korean peninsula. This is a dream but a portrait of what will be in near future," said President Kim in his speech to mark the Liberation Day Tuesday.

Both Seoul and Pyongyang have agreed on more separated family reunions in near future.

"Separated families are a shameful thing worldwide. We are all brothers and sisters. We must reunify our nation," said DPRK Kim Dong Jin when asked of his comment on the family reunion.

Ryu Mi-youn, head of the 100-member DPRK delegation, said the family reunions will promote national reconciliation and unity and implement the South-North Joint Declaration signed by South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and DPRK leader Kim Jong Il at their historic summit in Pyongyang on June 13-15.

"Now the wall of confrontation and division that had been frozen solidly has began collapsing," said the 78-year-old Ryu.

The 100 DPRK people arrived in Seoul aboard a DPRK Air Koryo plane, which was the first DPRK plane to have landed on South Korean soil since the 1950-1953 Korean War.

Under an itinerary issued by the South Korean government, the people to Seoul and Pyongyang will enjoy six family reunions and sightseeing during their four-day stay reunion.

Members of separated families on the Korean peninsula are estimated to be around 11 million, according to the South Korean Unification Ministry.

The ongoing inter-Korean family reunions are expected to help build mutual confidence between Seoul and Pyongyang, thus leading to further economic exchanges and reduction of military tension on the Korean Peninsula, South Korean officials said.