3rd Reunion for Inter-Korean Separated Families BeginA hundred members of separated families from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) arrived in Seoul Monday morning, beginning a two-day family reunions with their relatives long lost during Korean War (1950-1953).A DPRK's Air Koryo plane arrived here around 10:30 a.m. Monday with 140 peoples, including 40 support personnel and journalists. It will return to Pyongyang one hour later with a 151-member delegation from South Korea, including 100 separated family members. Under an agreement on the third inter-Korean family reunions,the separated families from South Korea will meet their separated family members at Coryo Hotel in Pyongyang from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. Monday while separated families from the DPRK will hold reunions at Lotte World Hotel in Seoul. Red Cross organizations of the two sides will host a welcoming dinner for separated families in Seoul and Pyongyang, respectively. On Tuesday, separated families in Seoul and Pyongyang will be allowed to spend four hours of individual reunions with their relatives. The separated families are expected to hold 10 hours of reunions on six occasions in Seoul and more than eight hours of reunions on five occasions in Pyongyang. The reunions are the third one since South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and DPRK leader Kim Jong Il held the landmark summit in Pyongyang in June last year. Last August and December, the two sides arranged two reunions for a total of 400 separated families. The 1950-53 Korean War left the peninsula thousands of families divided and severed all contact between the two halves. Some 110,000 South Koreans reportedly have asked the government for the chance to meet their long-lost relatives, most of them are in their 70s. |
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