Categories: Asia News

North Korea and South Korea Hold Talks on Organizing Family Reunions

South Korea and North Korea are conducting talks on organizing a rare reunion for families separated by the Korean War.

The talks are being held at the border village of Panmunjom by Red Cross officials from both sides.

Thousands of Korean families have been separated with little contact made since 1953 when hostilities ended.

The sporadic reunions depend hugely on the state of relations, and North Korea is known to have canceled a few. The last reunion was held in February 2014.

Each meeting gets deluged by tens of thousands of applications from South Korea, but only a tiny percentage gets selected. The last meeting saw 100 from each side attending, in a hugely emotional event.

The discussions come after a tense few weeks on the Korean peninsula, which saw exchanges of fire at the border and the evacuation of thousands of South Koreans from the border region.

The tensions began when a border landmine injured two South Korean soldiers – South Korea responded by broadcasting propaganda messages into North Korea.

The two sides reached an agreement to defuse the situation after marathon talks.

North Korea, which denied planted the mine, agreed to express “regret” about the incident – though later clarified this was an expression of sympathy not an apology.

South Korea and North Korea remain technically at war as the Korean War only ended in an armistice.

Diane A. Wade

Diane is a perfectionist. She enjoys searching the internet for the hottest events from around the world and writing an article about it. The details matter to her, so she makes sure the information is easy to read and understand. She likes traveling and history, especially ancient history. Being a very sociable person she has a blast having barbeque with family and friends.

Recent Posts

Donald Trump and Elon Musk Celebrate Election Victory at UFC 309

Image source: Wikimedia Commons President-elect Donald Trump celebrated his election victory at the Ultimate Fighting…

4 days ago

White House 2024: Donald Trump Wins, Kamala Harris Calls Him to Concede Election

Millions of voters across the US chose to return Donald Trump to the White House…

2 weeks ago

Who Won? Donald Trump Declares Victory as He Addresses Jubilant Supporters in Florida

Donald Trump declares victory in the US election as he addresses jubilant supporters in Florida.…

2 weeks ago

Stocks Soaring as Donald Trump Closes in on US Victory

Stocks around the world are rising as Donald Trump appears to be on the cusp…

2 weeks ago

Who Won? Kamala Harris Cancels Election Night Party as Path to Victory Narrows

Donald Trump has won Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia and taken a lead over Kamala…

2 weeks ago

Quincy Jones Dead at 91

Quincy Jones, the celebrated musician and producer who worked with Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ray…

2 weeks ago