Calmer atmosphere at 2nd reunion of separated families

The second round of exchange visits by members of families separated between South and North Korea concluded on Saturday. Although the meetings once again drove the nation to tears as the bitterness of the separation was soothed, there remains a lot of unfinished work. Among the issues that remain unsettled are the question of allowing letter exchanges, finding ways of locating family members and establishing a meeting facility. Decisions on these matters were delayed and discussions are scheduled for the fourth ministerial level negotiations in Pyongyang, to be held Dec. 12-14, and the third inter-Korean Red Cross talks to be held at Mt. Kumgang.

The tranquil family reunions:

In comparison to the first, the second reunions were a day shorter, two nights and three days, but because they had a schedule that allowed the families to meet in the morning as well as in the afternoon, the contact time between the family members for both reunions was about nine hours.

In contrast to the first reunions, the second set of meetings took place in a much calmer atmosphere. The 235 South Korean family members who went to the North shared joyous meetings with their North Korean family members, and the North Koreans who came to the South met with 483 of their family members. The government outlay for the second reunions was 970 million won, half the cost of the first, 1.8 billion.

However, while many looked expectantly to the planned third inter-Korean Red Cross meeting with the Central Committee Chairman of the North Korean Red Cross, Jang Jae-On, and standing committee member Choi Seung-Chol in Seoul, the meeting did not take place due to tight scheduling.

Issues left unsettled:

The North's nitpicking and the North Korean government's lack of countermeasures and policies remain unchanged.

The North took issue with an Internet news article of Chosun Ilbo and without prior contact with the inter-Korean liaison office, virtually blacklisted the Chosun Ilbo's photo-journalist, who had no involvement with the article in question. This resulted in a delay in the departure of the South Korean delegation for the North.

South Korea¡¯s Red Cross president Chang Choong-Sik, whose statement about North Korea was considered insulting to the North, was not allowed to take part in the reunion and was forced to Japan, resulting in a mini-crisis.