Lists of candidates for family reunions exchanged

South and North Korea exchanged the lists of 100 finalists each from among the applicants for the third round of family reunions, scheduled to take place Feb. 26-27 in Seoul and Pyongyang. Red Cross liaison officers from the two sides met in the truce village of Panmunjom Saturday afternoon to exchange the lists along with memoranda guaranteeing the security of visitors.

Chang Jung-Ja, vice president of the Korea National Red Cross, will head a group of 151 visitors to North Korea, including 30 Red Cross support personnel and 20 journalists. The mission from the North will consist of 140 people -- the 100 reunion participants along with 26 officials, 13 reporters and Kim Kyong-Rak, head of the delegation. Kim is a member of the executive committee of the North Korea Red Cross and chief delegate to the inter-Korean Red Cross talks.

A total of 99 of the North Korean participants were among candidates for the second round of family visits but were dropped from the final list. The other participant is Kim Su-Jo, general manager of the Pibada opera troupe and head of an acrobatic group.

The eldest visitor to Pyongyang is 94-year-old Lee Je-Bae, who expects to meet his former wife, a son and a daughter. The oldest person coming to Seoul will be Yim Moon-Bin, 85, seeking to reunite with his wife Nam Sang-Sook, 81, and his son.

Ha Tae-Won scooop@donga.com