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South Korea reoffered Friday to hold Red Cross talks with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK) to discuss the topic of regularly holding family reunions, Seoul's Unification Ministry said.
South Korea sent a notice in the name of its Red Cross chairman Friday morning to his DPRK counterpart, urging Pyongyang to accept Seoul's earlier proposal to hold working-level contacts between Red Cross officials for the family reunion dialogue, the ministry said in a statement.
Seoul proposed Wednesday to hold Red Cross talks with Pyongyang on March 12 after President Park Geun-hye instructed the ministry to start talks with the DPRK to discuss regularization of family reunions, exchanges of letter, video reunions and confirmations of life and death between families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
On Thursday, the DPRK rejected South Korea's dialogue offer, saying that the atmosphere is not created to hold talks. It noted significant humanitarian issues as the regularization of family reunions cannot be discussed through the Red Cross channel, indicating Pyongyang's willingness to discuss the issue through senior-level dialogue.
The two Koreas have agreed to hold another senior-level talks when both sides feel comfortable after holding the vice ministerial-level dialogue in mid-February, the first of such kind in around seven years.
The Unification Ministry said that humanitarian issues such as the separated families have been discussed through the Red Cross channel, expressing regrets over the DPRK's rejection to the Red Cross dialogue offer.
The ministry stressed that discussing the issue on the war- divided families must not be stopped due to political and military situations.
Millions have been separated since the three-year Korean War ended in armistice in 1953. Around 22,000 met their long-lost relatives at the 19 rounds of family reunions from 1985 to 2014.
The 19th round of the six-day family reunion ended on Feb. 25 in the DPRK's scenic resort of Mount Kumgang. Hundreds met their long-lost relatives for the first time in six decades as they have been banned from exchanging letters and phone calls since 1953.
According to government data, more than 70,000 South Koreans have been on the waiting list for family reunions since 1988, with all the applicants expected to pass away within 20 years from now due to old age.
