It has been confirmed that out of the
129,668 people who applied this February for an inter-Korean family
reunion, only 67,640 are alive, which accounts for 52.2% of the total number of reunion applicants.
According to a report from the Korean
Assembly for Reunion of Ten-Million Separated Families (KARTS) released on May
18th, 47.8% of the applicants [62,028] have already passed away, and only 1,956
people, or 1.5% of applicants, have actually been granted a temporary reunion with their
estranged family members across the border.
54.9% of the surviving applicants are
80 years of age or older. 8,363 [12.4%] of applicants are of 90 years of age or
older, while those in their 80s comprise 28,784 [42.5%] of the group; 18,309
[27.1%] of the survivors are in their 70s and 6,890 [10.2%] are in their 60s.
The committee reported that 4,135
applicants for family reunions perish every year on average. Based on this figure, the organization estimates that all surviving applicants will have passed away by 2031–only 16 years from the present.
The committee asserts that the possibility
of the remaining applicants reuniting with their families is low, given the
lack of progress in forging ahead with family reunions.
Since inter-Korean family reunions were
launched in 2000, there have been 19 reunions up to date, in which 1,956
individuals were able to meet their families in person. Even a statistic that
includes the 279 individuals who saw the faces of and spoke with their families via screens rather than in person only bumps up the success cases to 1.72%.
“Such reality shows that at this rate,
family reunions, which have been implemented through South-North Red Cross
talks, cannot be the solution to the problem [of people suffering from family
separation],” Lee Sang Chul, head of KARTS, said. “The current situation is
unbearable for these families.”
The committee is currently organizing private-level opportunities for 50 South Korean families 80 years of age or older to pay homage at the graves of their ancestors in North Korea. If carried out, these visits will take place from this coming August
to October in Kaesong, Hamheung, Pyongyang and potentially other regions. There has yet been no mention of North Korean families traveling to the South to do the same.
