S¡¤N Koreas to discuss POW issue

Unification Minister Park Jae-Kyu said Monday that the repatriation of South Korean prisoners of war (POWs) could be on the agenda for the second inter-Korean ministerial-level talks slated for August 29-31 in Pyongyang.

Park made the remark during a meeting with representatives of the Korean Veterans Association and the Federation of Korean War Participatory Organizations, which are calling for the early repatriation of the POWs to the South, at the Sejongno Central Government Complex.

Park said that his earlier comment during a parliamentary session that there are no South Korean POWs in the North was misunderstood. If the family reunions are viewed from a broad perspective, the South is required to send "unconverted" long-term Communist prisoners in the South to the North and the North to repatriate South Korean POWs, Minister Park said.

Earlier in the day, some 100 members of the Korean Veterans Association and a society of retired generals urged the government to take positive action for the repatriation of South Korean POWs in a rally in front of the government building.

Boo Hyung-Kwon bookum90@donga.com