South Korea Proposes Talks With North On Separated Families
On Thurs., S. Korea's unification minister Kwon Young-se offered talks with Pyongyang to resume reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. The last in-person meeting took place in 2018.
Facts
- On Thurs., S. Korea's unification minister Kwon Young-se offered talks with Pyongyang to resume reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. The last in-person meeting took place in 2018.
- This comes on the eve of Chuseok, a holiday celebrated on both sides of the Korean Peninsula, when Koreans traditionally visit their families.
- Family reunions are the only opportunity for seniors in their 80s and older to meet long-lost relatives as they aren't allowed to cross the border freely. Pandemic restrictions have also added another layer of complication.
- Between 2000 and 2018, 21 personal meetings and seven video family reunions were reportedly held, reunifying more than 24K Koreans from almost 5K families. However, only 2.28% of S. Koreans registered for a reunion have seen their northern relatives.
- Though exchange programs were held during Chuseok in the past, prospects of this proposal being accepted remain tenuous as trust has declined since S. Korea's Pres. Yoon Suk-yeol took office in May.
- While Yoon has pledged to increase Seoul's defense capabilities and strengthen deterrence, the North has conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests and is also reportedly preparing to carry out a nuclear test.
Sources: Korea JoongAng Daily, Al Jazeera, NPR Online News, Korea Herald, Straits Times, and Reuters.
Narratives
- Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by KCNA. Despite its attempts to pose as a credible stakeholder, the Yoon administration is provoking confrontation by carrying out military drills and continuing adversarial rhetoric. It's presumptuous of the South to think that Pyongyang would be interested in engaging in talks with a government under untrustworthy circumstances.
- Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Korea Times. Seoul is willing to discuss with Pyongyang how to solve this topic once and for all and is prepared to accept ideas from the North. While the Yoon administration has adopted a hardline approach on security issues in response to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, cooperation on humanitarian issues must prevail despite political circumstances. This will benefit the Peninsula and the international community alike.
