Koreas hold talks on reuniting divided families

[samanthajane13]

By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer Kwang-tae Kim, Associated Press Writer – 51 mins ago

SEOUL, South Korea – North and South Korea disagreed Wednesday on when families divided by the Korean War will be allowed to meet, at the first family reunion talks between the two sides in nearly two years.

Family reunions had been held annually since a landmark inter-Korean summit in 2000, but were suspended in 2008 when South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office with a hardline policy toward Pyongyang.

Although tensions have cooled and the reunion talks have resumed, the two sides were still at odds over the timing.

Seoul wanted the first stage of the reunions to be held in late September followed by a second stage in early October, while the North demanded that both stages be held in early October, close to the Chuseok autumn harvest holiday, according to South Korean media pool reports.

Chuseok, which falls on Oct. 3, is a major holiday for both Koreas, equivalent to Thanksgiving in the United States.

An official from South Korea's Unification Ministry said a Red Cross official headed the country's delegation, accompanied by two representatives from the government in Seoul. He requested anonymity, saying he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Pool reports said Red Cross officials from both sides attended the talks at the Diamond Mountain resort in the North.

The two Koreas last held Red Cross-brokered reunion talks in November 2007. The latest meeting is scheduled to last for three days and the two sides are expected to issue an agreement on Friday.

Millions of families were separated following the division of the Korean peninsula in 1945 and the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty, leaving the two countries technically at war.

More than 16,000 Koreans have met relatives in temporary reunions held under South Korea's two previous liberal presidents. There are no mail, telephone or e-mail exchanges between ordinary citizens across the Korean border.

North Korea's chief Red Cross delegate Choe Song Ik expressed hope that this "good opportunity will help develop North-South relations" and their humanitarian projects. His South Korean counterpart Kim Young-chol also said he has "expectations for big accomplishments."

The two sides are expected to work out their differences before issuing an agreement on Friday, the last day of talks.

North Korea's recent attempts to reach out to South Korea and the U.S. follows provocations earlier this year, including its second nuclear test in May and a barrage of ballistic missile launches.

Earlier this month, the North freed two American journalists and a South Korean worker. The North also agreed to lift restrictions on border crossings with the South and pledged to resume suspended inter-Korean projects. And last week, a North Korean delegation traveled to Seoul to mourn the death of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.

On Tuesday, South Korean media reported that the communist nation had invited two top U.S. envoys to visit Pyongyang for the first nuclear talks since President Barack Obama took office, and that the U.S. government was strongly considering sending them next month.

However, U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said neither special envoy Stephen Bosworth nor nuclear negotiator Sung Kim had immediate plans to go.

North Korea has long sought direct negotiations with Washington. The U.S. has said it is willing to talk bilaterally, but only within the framework of the disarmament talks involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan.

"Bilateral contacts and discussions can be part of that framework, but the six-party talks and multilateral approach remain central to the way we will proceed," U.S. envoy Philip Goldberg told reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday, part of his Asian tour to seek support for enforcing U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang for its May 25 nuclear test.

The North insisted it would not return to multilateral talks during meetings with China's nuclear envoy in Pyongyang last week, Yonhap news agency reported, citing unidentified South Korean officials.

Bilateral relations between the two Koreas deteriorated with the inauguration of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak early last year. Lee infuriated North Korea by imposing tough policies such as linking aid to the North's nuclear disarmament, prompting it to cut off all reconciliation talks and most of their joint projects.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Asan, the South Korean company whose worker was released by North Korea earlier this month, said Wednesday that it paid the North $15,757 for the worker's hotel bill during his more than four months in detention.

North Korea has a record of demanding money when freeing foreigners.

___

Associated Press writers Jae-soon Chang in Seoul, Matthew Lee in Washington and Shino Yuasa in Tokyo contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090826/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_tension

[samanthajane13]

Koreas close to agreement on family reunions
By JAE-SOON CHANG, Associated Press Writer Jae-soon Chang, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 4 mins ago

SEOUL, South Korea – North and South Korea were close to agreement Friday on a schedule for reuniting families long separated by the Korean War, in rare talks being held amid Pyongyang's push to reach out to Seoul and Washington, reports said.

Red Cross officials from the two sides were expected to wrap up three days of talks with an accord to hold six days of temporary reunions involving a total of 200 families from Sept. 26, according to reports in local media accredited to cover the talks. They cited an unidentified South Korean delegate.

However, the sides failed to reach agreement on how to address the issue of hundreds of South Korean prisoners of war and civilian abductees believed alive in the North, because the communist nation refused to discuss the matter, the official was cited as saying.

The meetings came after the North adopted a more conciliatory stance toward South Korea and the U.S. following months of defiant provocations including its second nuclear test in May and a barrage of banned ballistic missile launches.

Earlier this month, the North freed two American journalists and a South Korean worker after more than four months of detention and pledged to restart some joint projects, including the meetings of separated families that have been stalled since the inauguration of a conservative government in Seoul about 18 months ago.

The North also sent a delegation to Seoul to mourn the death of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.

South Korean media reported earlier this week that Pyongyang invited Washington's two top envoys on North Korea to visit in what would be their first nuclear talks since President Barack Obama took office.

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters Thursday that the U.S. has not received a formal invitation from the North. He also said special envoy Stephen Bosworth plans to travel to Asia soon, but won't go to North Korea.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Friday that four North Korean officials visited the U.S. last week to meet with American relief organizations and discuss the resumption of food aid to the impoverished nation. But their trip did not include meetings with U.S. government officials, Yonhap said, citing unidentified sources in Washington.

Millions of families were separated by the Korean War, which ended in 1953 with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.

South Korea estimates that 560 of its soldiers from the war remain alive in North Korea, in addition to 504 South Korean civilians — mostly fishermen whose boats were seized since the war's end.

North Korea says the civilians voluntarily defected to the North and denies holding any prisoners of war.

No mail, telephone or e-mail exchanges exist between ordinary citizens across the Korean border.

A landmark inter-Korean summit in 2000 paved the way for temporary face-to-face reunions of 16,210 Koreans and video reunions for more than 3,740 others.

The reunions were held annually but were suspended as North Korea cut off most ties to protest South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's hard-line policy toward Pyongyang.

_____

Associated Press writers Kwang-tae Kim, Hyung-jin Kim and Wanjin Park contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090828/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_tension

[samanthajane13]

NKorea to free SKorean fishermen as tensions ease
By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer Kwang-tae Kim, Associated Press Writer – 7 mins ago

SEOUL, South Korea – Four South Korean fishermen held by North Korea after their boat strayed into northern waters will be released, and families divided for decades after the Korean War will get a rare chance to meet next month — the latest signs tensions are easing on the divided Korean peninsula.

North Korea announced Friday it will hand over the fishermen and their boat to South Korean authorities across the eastern sea border at 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) Saturday, Seoul's Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said. Chun welcomed the decision, but urged Pyongyang not to detain South Koreans in the future.

"I am very pleased and it's beyond expression," Lee Ah-na, the wife of the boat's captain, told The Associated Press from the eastern port of Geojin, just south of the border.

The announcement came hours after the two Koreas agreed to hold a new round of reunions next month for families separated by the Korean War — the first in nearly two years.

Red Cross officials from the two sides concluded three days of talks at the North's scenic Diamond Mountain resort with a deal to hold six days of temporary reunions involving 200 families from Sept. 26, according to a joint statement.

Millions of families were separated by the Korean War, which ended in 1953 with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. No mail, telephone or e-mail exchanges exist between ordinary citizens across the Korean border.

Following their first-ever summit in 2000, the two Koreas regularly held family reunions until late 2007. Then, ties frayed badly after conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office last year with hard-line policies such as linking aid to Pyongyang's disarmament.

Friday's agreement said the North and South will continue to discuss separated families and other humanitarian issues.

Pyongyang has reached out in recent weeks to Seoul and Washington following a series of provocations, including nuclear and missile tests, and international sanctions to punish the communist regime for the defiant moves banned under U.N. resolutions.

Earlier this month, the communist country freed two American journalists and a South Korean worker after more than four months of detention. It also sent a delegation to Seoul to mourn the death of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.

South Korean media reported earlier this week that Pyongyang invited Washington's two top envoys on North Korea to visit in what would be their first nuclear talks since President Barack Obama took office.

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters Thursday that the U.S. had not received a formal invitation from the North. He also said special envoy Stephen Bosworth plans to travel to Asia soon, but he will not go to North Korea.

Four North Korean officials visited the U.S. last week to meet American relief organizations and discuss the resumption of food aid to the impoverished nation, Yonhap said. But their trip did not include meetings with U.S. government officials, it said, citing unidentified sources in Washington.

Experts said the North's recent gestures are part of its strategy to strengthen the country by 2012 — the centennial of founder Kim Il Sung's birth.

"The North is trying to improve its ties with Seoul and Washington to open up a new era" of prosperity, said Paik Hak-soon, an analyst at the private Sejong Institute think tank near Seoul.

The North's cooperative moves are unlikely to be one-time events, he said, noting South Korea and the U.S. should take some positive steps in response to keep alive the momentum.

In an apparent attempt to boost ties, Seoul is seeking to create a joint cheering squad with North Korea to support their teams at next year's football World Cup, Yonhap news agency reported, citing Kim Choong-whan, a ruling party lawmaker. The two Koreas have already qualified for South Africa 2010, marking the first time the fractious neighbors will play at the same World Cup.

The Choson Sinbo, a Tokyo-based newspaper considered a mouthpiece for the North Korean regime, said Friday that inter-Korean relations can improve if Seoul "grabs the extended hand" of Pyongyang.

___

Associated Press writers Jae-soon Chang and Wanjin Park contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090828/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_tension

[samanthajane13]

4 SKoreans return home after month held in North
By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer Kwang-tae Kim, Associated Press Writer – Sat Aug 29, 10:49 am ET

SEOUL, South Korea – Four South Korean fishermen, whom Pyongyang detained for a month after they accidentally entered North Korean waters, returned home Saturday.

Their release is the latest indication that the communist country wants to improve ties with its southern neighbor and put stalled cross-border projects back on track.

Earlier this month, the North freed two American journalists and a South Korean worker after more than four months of detention. On Friday the two sides agreed to resume reunions of families divided by the Korean War more than half a century ago.

On Saturday, North Korean authorities handed over the fishermen and their boat to South Korea's Coast Guard officials at the Koreas' shared eastern maritime border.

Pyongyang held the four South Koreans for a month after their boat strayed into northern waters on July 30. Maritime officials say the fishermen encountered difficulties with their satellite navigation system.

"I am sorry to the public for causing concern, but I am deeply grateful for the support that secured our quick return," the boat's captain Park Kwang-sun told reporters in a brief comment after arriving at Sokcho, a port 130 miles (210 kilometers) east of Seoul.

Park and three other crew were immediately whisked away by officials to an undisclosed location for a debriefing, said Kim Tae-jong, a Coast Guard spokesman in Sokcho.

Experts said the North's decision to release the fishermen would remove obstacles to repairing ties on the Korean peninsula — and eventually help patch up its relations with the United States.

"The release turned on the green light for the overall improvement of inter-Korean ties," said Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea expert at Seoul's Dongguk University.

The Koreas will hold six days of reunions involving 200 families at the North's scenic Diamond Mountain resort starting Sept. 26.

Millions of families were separated by the Korean War, which ended in 1953 with a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. No mail, telephone or e-mail exchanges exist between ordinary citizens across the Korean border.

Following their first summit in 2000, the two Koreas regularly held family reunions until late 2007. Then, ties frayed badly after conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office last year with hard-line policies such as linking aid to North Korea's nuclear disarmament.

The Choson Sinbo, a Tokyo-based newspaper that is considered a mouthpiece for the North Korean regime, said Friday that inter-Korean relations can improve if Seoul "grabs the extended hand" of the North.

Seoul has welcomed the North's conciliatory overtures, but it appears unlikely to change its policy toward the North unless Pyongyang takes steps toward disarmament.

"Our policy remains unchanged that the resolution of North Korea's nuclear issue is important," a South Korean official handling North Korean affairs told The Associated Press on Saturday. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing sensitivity of the issue.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates seized a cargo ship bound for Iran carrying banned rocket-propelled grenades and other arms from North Korea, the first such seizure since sanctions against the North were tightened, diplomats and officials told The Associated Press on Friday.

The seizure was carried out in accordance with tough new U.N. Security Council sanctions meant to derail North Korea's nuclear weapons program, but which also ban the North's sale of any conventional arms.

"We can confirm that the UAE detained a North Korean vessel containing illicit cargo," a Western diplomat told the AP.

___

Associated Press photographer Young-joon Ahn in Sokcho, South Korea, and AP writer John Heilprin at the United Nations contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090829/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_tension;_ylt=AjqSAG3BqCTack8qKxT8Np5H2oc A;_ylu=X3oDMTJrZ2tjOHVsBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwODI5L2F zX2tvcmVhc190ZW5zaW9uBGNwb3MDNQRwb3MDNQRzZWMDeW5fd G9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrAzRza29yZWFuc3JldA--

[samanthajane13]

Koreas restore regular cross-border traffic
By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer Kwang-tae Kim, Associated Press Writer – 22 mins ago

SEOUL, South Korea – North and South Korea restored regular traffic across their heavily fortified border for their jointly run industrial park Tuesday in the latest sign of improved relations between the two, officials in Seoul said.

The North's state radio station, meanwhile, quoted leader Kim Jong Il as saying that the U.S. should abandon its "hostile policy" toward the North and sign a peace treaty with the communist nation to reduce tension on the peninsula. His comments echoed statements he has made in the past. Pyongyang Radio didn't say when Kim made the remarks.

The U.S. fought with South Korea in the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in an armistice, leaving the North and South still technically at war. About 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea as deterrence against the North.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Monday he had no comment on the matter.

The resumption of regular traffic between the neighbors for their joint industrial park in the North was the latest indication of efforts by Pyongyang to reach out to Seoul and Washington, after months of provocations that included nuclear and missile tests.

The North had severely restricted traffic across the border since December. The clampdown affected the flow of goods and personnel to and from the factory park in Kaesong.

The border will open 23 times a day to traffic to and from Kaesong, up from the previous six times, Seoul's Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo told reporters Tuesday. The number of people and vehicles allowed to cross the border at one time will no longer be restricted, she said.

"I don't have any sense of uneasiness," Han Maeng-woo, a 53-year-old South Korean worker, said as he left for the industrial complex. He said his company will be able to resume investment that was suspended during the inter-Korean tensions.

Kaesong is home to some 110 South Korean-run factories that employ about 40,000 North Korean workers. The project is the most prominent symbol of the inter-Korean cooperation that prospered under two liberal South Korean presidents following the Koreas' first-ever summit in 2000.

The reconciliation process and most joint projects came to a halt after conservative President Lee Myung-bak took office early last year. North Korea protested Lee's tough policies, such as linking aid to the impoverished neighbor to nuclear disarmament.

But in August, Pyongyang freed two American journalists and a South Korean worker held for more than four months of detention, agreed to resume joint projects and set a date for the reunion of families separated during the Korean War.

Pyongyang also sent an official delegation to Seoul to mourn the death of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il during the 2000 Korean summit.

The two sides agreed Friday to hold a new round of family reunions in late September. On Saturday, North Korea released four South Korean fishermen seized in late July after their boat strayed into northern waters.

Kelly said the U.S. is "encouraged by more dialogue between North and South."

__

Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul and APTN cameraman Si-young Lee in Paju, South Korea, contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090901/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_tension

[samanthajane13]

Separated Koreans prepare for family reunions
By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer Kwang-tae Kim, Associated Press Writer – 35 mins ago

SEOUL, South Korea – Lee Sun-ok fled from North to South Korea to escape chaotic fighting during the Korean War, boarding a ship along with thousands of other people in December 1950. There was no time to say goodbye to her loved ones.

Now, the 80-year-old widow will return to North Korea on Saturday to meet two younger sisters and one younger brother for the first time in 60 years.

"I never thought I could see them again," an emotional Lee said in an interview Wednesday. "I can die after visiting the North with no regrets."

Lee is among about 200 families from both sides scheduled to hold six days of reunions with relatives they have not seen since the war ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, in 1953, leaving the countries divided.

Millions of families remain separated following the Korean peninsula's division in 1945 and the ensuing civil war. There are no mail, telephone or e-mail exchanges between ordinary citizens from the two Koreas. Nor can they travel to the other side of the peninsula without government approval.

Family reunions began in 2000 following a landmark inter-Korean summit, but North Korea cut off most such programs after South Korea's conservative President Lee Myung-bak took office last year with a get-tough policy of holding North Korea accountable to its nuclear disarmament pledges.

North Korea agreed last month to resume the reunions as part of moves to reach out to South Korea and the United States after months of tension over its nuclear and missile programs.

The meetings will take place at the North's Diamond Mountain resort on the peninsula's east coast. So far, more than 16,200 Koreans have held temporary face-to-face reunions with relatives since they began. Some 3,740 others have seen relatives in video reunions.

The reunions come amid growing international pressure on the communist regime in Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons programs and return to stalled disarmament talks.

North Korea boycotted the six-nation nuclear talks in April to protest world criticism of a rocket launch it carried out, but its leader Kim Jong Il has reportedly expressed interest in "bilateral and multilateral talks," indicating the North could rejoin the nuclear negotiations involving the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea and Russia.

President Barack Obama told a U.N. General Assembly session Wednesday that North Korea "must be held accountable" if it continues to put its pursuit of nuclear weapons ahead of international security.

The reunions last through Oct. 1 and it remains unclear when they may be held again.

The meetings are a highly emotional issue in the Koreas. Most of those applying for the chance to see their long lost loved ones are in their 70s or older, and are eager for a reunion before they die.

Of 127,400 South Koreans who have applied over the year, nearly 40,000 have already died, according to South Korea's Red Cross.

South Korea wants to stage more family reunions on a regular basis and allow divided families to confirm whether their long-lost kin are still alive, but the North has balked at the request.

Lee Sun-ok married in South Korea, had two children and worked selling clothes in her own small shop. Still, she longed to see her loved ones in the North.

"I am fortunate to meet (my brother and sisters) before I die," she said. "They are always in my heart."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090925/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_family_reunions