Time to reunite! North and South Korea’s reconciliation decision unites separated families in Korean War

Seoul, June 22: The year 2018 saw the most unbelievable unprecedented union of North and South Korea coming together burying the long-lasting hitch. In a new welcoming move that will definitely see a brighter and most wonderful side of the North-South Korean country is that both have decided to reunite the families separated in the Korean War.

Boosting reconciliation amid a diplomatic push to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said the meeting will discuss ways to carry out an agreement on the reunions made between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in during a summit in April.

Kim and Moon met again in May, and their two summits have opened various channels of peace talks between the Koreas. The rivals recently agreed to restore cross-border military hotline communication channels and field joint teams in some events at the upcoming Asian Games in Indonesia.

The Korean leaders in their first meeting agreed to hold the family reunions around Aug. 15, an anniversary celebrated in both countries marking the Korean Peninsula’s independence from Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II in 1945. Friday’s talks are expected to set up the exact date and location for the reunions and determine the number of people participating from both countries.

Reunion programs are highly emotional as most wishing to take part are elderly people who are eager to reunite with their loved ones before they die. They have driven apart during the turmoil of the Korean War.

The Koreas last held family reunions in 2015 before relations worsened because of North Korea’s accelerated pursuit of nuclear long-range missiles and the countering hard-line policies of Seoul’s conservative then-government.

Since the end of the Korean War, both Koreas have banned ordinary citizens from visiting relatives on the other side of the border or contacting them without permission. Nearly 20,000 Koreans had participated in 20 rounds of face-to-face reunions held between the countries since 2000.