The South Korean government has moved to quash media reports that it is set to suggest new inter-Korean Red Cross talks for separated family reunions to North Korea during this month.
Kim Hyung Suk, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification, told a ministry briefing today, “There is no change to our belief that family reunions should be prioritized because they deal with human pain; however, as of now nothing has been decided.”
Kim went on, “I cannot reveal concretely this or that situation within the government; however, there are many different ways to communicate.”
Regarding the conditions for family reunions more generally, he asserted, “I think that for the government to say either ‘conditions are good or bad’ is not good for efforts to achieve separated family reunions,” before adding, “North Korea has its position, and we also need to consider various types of national issue.”
With regards to this, an official from the Ministry of Unification also pointed out, “Throughout, the South Korean government’s position has been that if conditions are met the separated families should meet. Whether it is to be proposed this month has not been decided, but if conditions are right we can suggest it.”
The South Korean government has always pushed for family reunions regardless of political circumstances, considering them to be a humanitarian matter. However, North Korea treats them as a more overtly political issue, which causes problems when relations are strained, as they are now.
Family reunions and Red Cross talks have both been suspended since 2010, following the Yeonpyeong Island shelling. The incumbent government has seen two sets of family reunions since it came to power in 2008, the 17th and the 18th in the years 2009 and 2010.
