No Country for Old Men

One of the results of the August meeting between Kim Jong-il and Hyundai Group Chair Hyun Jeong-eun was the resumption of meetings that reunite Korean families in the North and South.  Actually, prior to Ms. Hyun’s visit, the DPRK’s Red Cross had proposed the family reunions and they were one of the central conversation topics when the DPRK’s delegation (consisting of KWP Secretary Kim Ki-nam and KWP Department Director Kim Yang-gon) met ROK President Lee Myung-bak during the funeral of the late former ROK President Kim Dae-jung.

The reunions are now taking place near Mount Kumgang.  Most of the participants, both from North and South, are elderly.  It would not be a North-South meeting without the soft suggestion of a trade-off for the DPRK’s goodwill.

Families of two Koreas continue reunions, prepare for farewells

Yonhap News Agency, 27 September 2009

Cries and Hugs at Reunion of Families in North Korea

Choe Sang-Hun, 26 September 2009

International Herald Tribune