Thursday, August 23, 2018

North, South Korea holding rare family reunions

North Korea and South Korea are holding a second round of family reunions this weekend at a mountain resort in North Korea.

This, after another group of families torn apart by the Korean War met earlier this week for just three days at the same resort.

Reporter Bruce Harrison in Seoul tells us more about how that first group spent that short time together after a lifetime apart.


IN:  "The North Korean classic song... "

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http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/0824reunionspkg-_bh-SABC.mp3


The North Korean classic song, Nice to Meet You, plays as families enter a hotel about an hour North of the DMZ. For some, this is the first time they'll meet.


An elderly South Korean man was skeptical he'd be meeting his actual family members.


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However their time together, he laments, is far too short.


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This is the first round of family reunions in more than three years. 89 South Koreans and their family members or caretakers made the trip to North Korea's Mount Geumgang. Before there were chosen, many didn't know if there family in the North was even alive. The event is being held amid major efforts this year by Seoul and Pyongyang to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula. South Korean President Moon Jae In and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un have held two summits since April and there are plans for a third next month.


Kim also held a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump… building hope for a formal end to the Korean War. But as part of their summit agreements, Seoul and Washington remain adamant Pyongyang must give up its nuclear weapons. Progress on that goal remains very uncertain.


As the families cry, hug and share drinks and snacks at the reunion there's little talk of politics and nuclear weapons.

90-year-old Kim Byung-seon is meeting his nephews for the first time. He shares photos with them… and talks about peace.


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For now, this reunion site in the country where he was born is the closest he'll get.

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