For the first time since 2015, the two Koreas agreed, today, to resume in the month of AI like, reunions of families separated by the Korean War, informor a statement from the Red Cross.
The reunions could take place from August 20th to 26th on Mount Kumgang, in North Korea, the note adds. Millions of people were separated almost 70 years ago by this war fought between 1950 and 1953.
The majority have already died without having received news or seen their relatives on the other side of the border, closed to any type of communication for the population.
The resumption of these family meetings is part of the agreements reached during the decisive meeting in April between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
“100 participants will be selected from each side of the border”, indicates the joint inter-Korean statement.
Next week authorities will start looking for a place for these meetings, according to the same source.
Only 57,000 people registered by the South Korean Red Cross to be reunited with their relatives are still alive, and the majority are over 70 years old.
For those lucky enough to be chosen, these meetings are a moment of strong emotion.
After decades of separation, the reunions last three days and end with a goodbye that could be the last.
The family reunion program began after a historic inter-Korean summit in 2000.
Initially they happened every year, until tension on the border between the two Koreas caused them to become increasingly infrequent.
North Korea has long been accused of using the issue of divided family reunions for political purposes, rejecting proposals for them to be regularized or canceling them at the last moment.