Photo : YONHAP News
The ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs says it will seek to verify whether the North Korean members of families separated during the Korean War are still alive, if and when cross-border relations improve.
The information was part of the unification ministry’s updated three-year plan for the promotion of exchanges between members of the separated families, announced Wednesday.
If the individuals in question are confirmed to be alive, the ministry said it intends to push for an exchange of letters and the resumption of family reunions.
After resuming inter-Korean dialogue, Seoul intends to reach an agreement with Pyongyang to establish a system to allow members of the separated families to check anytime on family members on the other side, and to be notified in the event of a family member’s death.
The most recent family reunion took place at the North’s Mount Geumgang in August 2018, but since then Pyongyang has unilaterally demolished the reunion facility at the mountain resort.
Data released by the ministry on Wednesday showed that of the 134-thousand-514 registered family members in the South, 34-thousand-658, or 25-point-eight percent, were still alive.