A second round of separated family reunions began yesterday at the Mt. Geumgang tourist resort in North Korean Gangwon Province. The second round of reunions, which is due to continue throughout today and into tomorrow, sees 357 South Koreans and 88 elderly North Korean relatives meet for the first time in more than 60 years.
Of the 88 North Korean participants, 82 are 80+; three are 88. The remaining six are 70+. The eldest South Korean participant is 94-year old Lee Oh Soon, who is meeting her 83-year old sibling Cho Won Je.
As the reunions continue, more than 5,200 American servicemen, 1,100 from overseas, and approximately 10,000 South Korean military personnel are also meeting for the annual “Key Resolve-Foal Eagle” military drills, which started this morning. “Key Resolve” runs until March 6th, while “Foal Eagle” runs through April 18th.
During bilateral talks at Panmunjom on Valentines’ Day, the North Korean side acquiesced to the simultaneous holding of separated family reunions and military exercises involving U.S. troops. However, it is unclear whether the agreement will hold.
North Korea’s acceptance formed just one clause of a three-point agreement. The other two clauses concerned: (a) general cessation of mutual slander, which was a North Korean demand; and (b) continuation of high-level talks. However, North Korea has since warned that it does not think the South is adhering to the agreement in terms of (a).
In a February 23rd editorial carried by Rodong Sinmun, the daily publication of the Chosun Workers’ Party, North Korea accused the South Korean government of continuing to slander the North. “If the South Korean authorities truly hope for improved inter-Korean relations,” it asserted, “they should make the bold decision to stop all acts of mutual slander at once, as well as increasing misunderstanding and distrust and escalating confrontation and enmity.”
The piece accuses the South Korean military of continuing “psychological warfare against the North,” which it called a violation of the agreement on mutual slander, and the Ministry of Unification of stepping up an “anti-DPRK smear campaign, clamoring for the non-existent ‘human rights issue’,” a reference to South Korea’s welcoming of last week’s publication of the findings of a UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights abuses by the North Korean authorities.
