ROK prepares to consult with DPRK on video reunions of separated families

The Unification Ministry of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in charge of inter-Korean affairs said Wednesday that it was preparing to consult with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on the video reunions of Korean families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

Baik Tae-hyun, the ministry's spokesman, told a routine press briefing that preparations were underway before consulting with the DPRK on the video reunions and the exchange of video messages among the separated families.

He said the issue would be discussed between the two Koreas at the inter-Korean liaison office in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong after the completion of internal preparations and discussions among relevant ministries.

ROK President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un agreed in their third summit in Pyongyang last September to hold the video reunions and the exchange of video messages for the separated families.

The families of the two Koreas have been banned from meeting and contacting their relatives on the other side of the Korean Peninsula since the Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953.

The ROK recently won sanctions waiver from the UN Security Council to send necessary equipment to the DPRK for the video reunion event.

The latest face-to-face reunions of the separated families were held in August last year, the first such event in about three years.

Baik also responded to the situation of DPRK ambassadors returning home, saying that more monitoring is needed before making conclusions, said Yonhap.

On Tuesday, DPRK Ambassador to China Ji Jae Ryong, Ambassador to Russia Kim Hyong Jun and DPRK Top Envoy to the UN Kim Song, headed to Pyongyang by air. They are all newly elected deputies to the 14th Supreme People's Assembly.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)