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| South Korea Proposes Resuming Reunions of War-Divided Families | South Korea Proposes Resuming Reunions of War-Divided Families |
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| SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s president proposed Monday that the two Koreas improve their tense relations by resuming the reunions of families separated since the Korean War, a humanitarian program that seemed close to being renewed last year but was scuttled as negotiations soured. | SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s president proposed Monday that the two Koreas improve their tense relations by resuming the reunions of families separated since the Korean War, a humanitarian program that seemed close to being renewed last year but was scuttled as negotiations soured. |
| President Park Geun-hye’s overture came five days after the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, urged that Seoul and Pyongyang create “a favorable climate for improved relations” in a New Year’s Day speech. | President Park Geun-hye’s overture came five days after the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, urged that Seoul and Pyongyang create “a favorable climate for improved relations” in a New Year’s Day speech. |
| “I hope that North Korea will create a new opportunity for South-North relations and a framework for dialogue by taking a good first step with family reunions,” Ms. Park said during a nationally televised news conference. | “I hope that North Korea will create a new opportunity for South-North relations and a framework for dialogue by taking a good first step with family reunions,” Ms. Park said during a nationally televised news conference. |
| Ms. Park, a conservative, made two other conciliatory gestures toward the North, offering to increase humanitarian aid to the impoverished country and to let South Korean civic groups provide assistance to its farmers and ranchers. But she expressed skepticism about the prospect of meeting with Mr. Kim, whose government has until recently exhorted South Koreans to overthrow her “fascist dictatorship.” | Ms. Park, a conservative, made two other conciliatory gestures toward the North, offering to increase humanitarian aid to the impoverished country and to let South Korean civic groups provide assistance to its farmers and ranchers. But she expressed skepticism about the prospect of meeting with Mr. Kim, whose government has until recently exhorted South Koreans to overthrow her “fascist dictatorship.” |
| She urged the young North Korean leader to “act, not just talk” to prove his sincerity about better relations. She also said it had become “impossible” to predict “what will happen to the North and what actions it will take” since the purge and execution last month of Mr. Kim’s uncle, Jang Song-thaek, who was long considered Mr. Kim’s mentor and the second-highest-ranking figure in his secretive government. | She urged the young North Korean leader to “act, not just talk” to prove his sincerity about better relations. She also said it had become “impossible” to predict “what will happen to the North and what actions it will take” since the purge and execution last month of Mr. Kim’s uncle, Jang Song-thaek, who was long considered Mr. Kim’s mentor and the second-highest-ranking figure in his secretive government. |
| Ms. Park proposed that a new round of reunions be held around Lunar New Year’s Day on Jan. 31, a traditional time for family gatherings in both Koreas. | Ms. Park proposed that a new round of reunions be held around Lunar New Year’s Day on Jan. 31, a traditional time for family gatherings in both Koreas. |
| There was no immediate response from Pyongyang. Ms. Park called Monday’s news conference, her first since taking office last February, amid growing criticism from the South Korean opposition that she had not been communicating enough with the public. | There was no immediate response from Pyongyang. Ms. Park called Monday’s news conference, her first since taking office last February, amid growing criticism from the South Korean opposition that she had not been communicating enough with the public. |
| Millions of Koreans were separated from family members when the Korean Peninsula was divided into the Communist North and the pro-American South at the end of World War II. The Korean War, which began in 1950, was fought to a stalemate and an ultimate cease-fire in 1953. Since then, no exchanges of letters, telephone calls or emails have been allowed between North and South Koreans, and family reunions remain a highly emotional issue and an indicator of the state of relations on the peninsula. | |
| About 22,000 people from both Koreas participated in 18 rounds of government-arranged reunions between 1985 and 2010, when the program was suspended as relations worsened. About 73,000 South Koreans — half of whom are more than 80 years old — remain on a waiting list for a chance to meet with parents, siblings or children in the North for the first time in 60 years. | About 22,000 people from both Koreas participated in 18 rounds of government-arranged reunions between 1985 and 2010, when the program was suspended as relations worsened. About 73,000 South Koreans — half of whom are more than 80 years old — remain on a waiting list for a chance to meet with parents, siblings or children in the North for the first time in 60 years. |
| After months of harsh rhetoric following the North’s nuclear test last February, North and South Korea reached an agreement last August to revive the reunions. But the North later ended the talks, blaming the South for refusing to resume an inter-Korean tourism program at the North’s Diamond Mountain resort, which had been highly lucrative for Pyongyang until it was shut down in 2008. | After months of harsh rhetoric following the North’s nuclear test last February, North and South Korea reached an agreement last August to revive the reunions. But the North later ended the talks, blaming the South for refusing to resume an inter-Korean tourism program at the North’s Diamond Mountain resort, which had been highly lucrative for Pyongyang until it was shut down in 2008. |
| Ms. Park did not offer details Monday on her proposed humanitarian aid to the North, but she said South Korean civic groups might be able to join international aid agencies in providing support to farmers and ranchers in the country. In his New Year’s speech, Mr. Kim set the rebuilding of his country’s agriculture as a top priority. | Ms. Park did not offer details Monday on her proposed humanitarian aid to the North, but she said South Korean civic groups might be able to join international aid agencies in providing support to farmers and ranchers in the country. In his New Year’s speech, Mr. Kim set the rebuilding of his country’s agriculture as a top priority. |
| Cheong Seong-chang, an analyst at the Sejong Institute in South Korea, said that the family reunion proposal gave Pyongyang a chance to follow up on Mr. Kim’s call for improved ties. But Mr. Cheong warned that the North would eventually link the reunions to the Diamond Mountain tourism program. Without a concession on that issue, he said, “North Korea will be uncooperative with family reunions, and even if they are held, they will be a one-time event.” | |
| South Korea halted the flow of aid and investment to the North in 2008, demanding that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons. It also curtailed inter-Korean trade following the sinking of a South Korean naval ship in 2010, which Seoul says was caused by a North Korean torpedo attack. | South Korea halted the flow of aid and investment to the North in 2008, demanding that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons. It also curtailed inter-Korean trade following the sinking of a South Korean naval ship in 2010, which Seoul says was caused by a North Korean torpedo attack. |
| After spending much of last year threatening nuclear and missile attacks against Washington and Seoul, North Korea recently shifted its tone, calling for reconciliation. Ms. Park said Monday she was eager to work toward Korean reunification, which she said would bring “a bonanza” to the South Korean economy. But she said that the North’s refusal to abandon its nuclear weapons was a stumbling block and that the motives for its recent overtures remained suspect. | |
| Mr. Kim made similarly conciliatory comments toward the South during his New Year’s Day speech in 2013, but they were followed by a series of provocative acts, including its February nuclear test. Just last month, Pyongyang sent a letter to Ms. Park’s office threatening “strikes without warning.” | Mr. Kim made similarly conciliatory comments toward the South during his New Year’s Day speech in 2013, but they were followed by a series of provocative acts, including its February nuclear test. Just last month, Pyongyang sent a letter to Ms. Park’s office threatening “strikes without warning.” |