DPRK Greets 63 Prisoners at PanmunjomThe Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) held a grand ceremony Saturday at the truce village of Panmunjom to welcome 63 "unconverted long-term prisoners" repatriated by South Korea.The repatriates were greeted by the DPRK's senior government officials and their relatives. "Unconverted long-term prisoners" refer to the prisoners detained and held by South Korea since the Korean War in the 1950s and who would not change their political conviction. The repatriates left the Pukak Park Hotel in northern Seoul at 8:00 a.m. Saturday (2300 GMT Friday) and crossed to the northern side of the military demarcation line at 10 a.m. after DPRK officials received their medical checklists from South Korean officials. The repatriation of the prisoners was included in the June 15 North-South joint declaration signed by DPRK leader Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Kim Dae-jung at the end of the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang. The Red Cross delegations from Pyongyang and Seoul signed an agreement on this issue on June 30. The DPRK government earlier released the list of all 63 repatriates. Among them, the oldest is 89 years and the youngest 55. |
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