Two Koreas to talk on family renuions next week

SEOUL. November 19. KAZINFORM The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will hold Red Cross talks on family reunions next week in a ROK border town, the Seoul government said Friday; Kazinform refers to China Daily.

The Ministry of Unification said that the DPRK's Red Cross notified its ROK counterparts of its plan to send delegates to the border town of Munsan for talks.

The two sides had agreed to hold talks but had not settled on a talks venue.

It will mark the first time that a DPRK delegation passes through the heavily armed inter-Korean border to travel to the ROK in more than a year, after DPRK officials visited Seoul in August 2009 to attend the funeral of former ROK President Kim Dae-jung.

In next week's talks, the two sides are scheduled to discuss ways to regularize the reunions of families separated by the 1950- 53 Korean War, according to the ministry.

The DPRK on Thursday proposed holding talks about the tours to Mount Kumgang, including its confiscation of Seoul's assets, on the sidelines of a planned meeting on Thursday next week about family reunions, the ministry said.

The DPRK also suggested the ROK to send related officials to the meeting, to discuss resuming the ROK tours to Mount Kumgang.

But Seoul rejected to link the humanitarian family reunion program, organized by the Red Cross and held at Mount Kumgang, to the commercial tourism project; Kazinform cites China Daily.

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