South Korea proposes meeting with North Korea on family reunions

 South Korea's new government on Thursday proposed talks with North Korea to resume reunions of thousands of families separated since the 1950-53 Korean War, saying time was running out for ageing relatives.

Despite long-strained ties between the two countries over the North's nuclear weapons programme, the Unification Minister of South Korea, Kwon Young-se, urged Pyongyang to discuss the issue of separated families.

During a press briefing on Thursday, he said, “Seoul and Pyongyang should confront the painful parts of reality. We must solve the matter before it’s too late.”

Millions of people were swept apart during the 1950-53 Korean War. The war began in 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea after clashes along the border. Consequently, it separated brothers and sisters, parents and children and husbands and wives. Since the end of the Korean War, there have been 21 meetings allowing some separated people to reunite.

Despite the deadlocked inter-Korean dialogue, the Unification Minister held a press briefing to talk about the plight of the heartbroken Koreans from both sides. He said that they have suffered over the division of the two Koreas.

During the press briefing, the South Korean leader also said, "We will do this process with an open mind, and we will ensure to take into account the preferences of North Korea, including the date, venue, agenda and format of the talks."

He also said, “Time is running out for around 40,000 elderly people in their 80s and 90s, with about 400 people passing away each month.”

The proposal comes at a time of crumbling relations between the two rivals, with North Korea blaming South Korea for the outbreak of Covid-19 infection in its territory. North Korea has also repeatedly demanded that the United States and South Korea make concessions, including lifting economic sanctions and permanently stopping the joint military exercises.