300 Koreans chosen to send letters to families in NK

The Korea National Red Cross (KNRC) finalized Friday a list of 300 South Koreans who were authorized to send letters to separated family members in North Korea. Their letters will be exchanged along with those sent by 300 North Koreans to their families in the South during a meeting of the liaison officers of the two sides at the truce village of Panmunjom on March 15. It is the first time ordinary South Korean citizens will be permitted to write their family members in North Korea. Attempting to send letters to North Korea was previously punishable by law.

The 300 participants in the program include 64 whose relatives` whereabouts were verified as part of preparations for the family reunions but who could not travel to Pyongyang due to quota restrictions. They also include 112 people whose family members` addresses in the North were confirmed and 114 others whose whereabouts are still being determined. The KNRC notified their selection to each of the 300 South Koreans involved.

Among those chosen were Kim Sam-Rye, 74, mother of Kang Hi-Geun, 49, boatswain of the Tongjin-ho ship that was hijacked to the North in 1987, and Lee Hu-Duk, 77, mother of Sung Kyung-Hee, flight attendant of a KAL jet that was hijacked to Pyongyang in 1969. They also include younger brothers of South Korean prisoners of war, Lee Hyung-Suk, 81, Son Won-Ho, 75, and Kim Jae-Duk, 69.

The oldest participant is Hoh On-Nyon, 107, from Hwasong, Kyonggi Province, who will be writing to her 70-year-old son, Yun Chang-Sop, in Nampo.

The KNRC will provide them with special envelopes which they must return by Mar. 8. Inside the envelopes they can place sealed letters addressed to their relatives in the North that contain no more than three letter-sized sheets of paper and two photographs. Sending money is not allowed.

The KNRC and the North Korean Red Cross Society will discuss how and when replies will be delivered and the question of increasing the number of families allowed to write letters in the fourth Red Cross talks on April 3. For further information, call 822-3705-3705.

Ha Tae-Won scooop@donga.com