War-separated families of Koreas meet for first time in over 6 decades
Eighty-nine South Koreans, mostly in their 70s and older, met about 180 long-separated family members, including brothers, sisters and other relatives living in North Korea, at Mount Kumgang, a scenic resort on the North's east coast, Joint Press Corps-Yonhap reports.
Some of them were so frail that they were in wheelchairs and supported by others during the meeting that lasted for two hours from 3 p.m. The meeting was the first session of reunions planned during their three-day stay that will end on Wednesday.
"Sangchol!" Lee Keum-seom, a 92-year-old South Korean woman, burst into tears as she called her son's name when they met for the first time in decades. Her son also wept.
Lee was split from the rest of her family, including her husband and son, in the middle of the Korean War.
"How many kids do you have?" Lee asked her 71-year-old son, holding his hands tight.
Han Shin-ja, a 99-year-old woman, couldn't say much except cry when she saw her two daughters -- Kim Gyong-sil and Gyong-yong -- both in their 70s.
The three used to live in Heungnam when the war broke out and were split during the Jan. 4 Retreat in 1951. They hugged one another without saying much for a while.
"When I escaped the war..." she said, unable to continue, apparently overwhelmed by regret over the fact that she had to leave her two daughters behind.
As many participants are elderly, reunions between parents and their sons and daughters are rare. Most cases are meetings among cousins, nieces or nephews.
Baik Sung-gyu is the oldest person to take part in the family reunion event. Accompanied by his son from the South, the 101-year-old came into the meeting hall in a wheelchair.
When he met a daughter-in-law and her daughter from the North, he smiled but didn't say much. Instead, his son led the conversation. "I am your uncle," he told Baik's granddaughter living in the North.
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