Relatives from family separated by Korean War meet for 1st time in 3rd country

In September, a rare reunion occurred between two relatives from a family that had been separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. The meeting took place in a third country, marking a unique occurrence amidst ongoing tensions between North and South Korea. Even though the two nations remain deeply divided, this meeting stood out as an exception.

Tensions between the two Koreas continue to be high. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has explicitly ruled out any form of dialogue with South Korea, and has portrayed the relationship between the two nations as that of hostile states. This atmosphere of hostility makes such reunions all the more remarkable.

The meeting happened five months after South Korea's Unification Ministry received a request from a North Korean family member looking for assistance in locating a maternal uncle in South Korea. This request was relayed by a North Korean defector currently residing in South Korea. The Unification Ministry, responsible for managing inter-Korean affairs, located the uncle in its database of separated families. However, the ministry later learned that the uncle had passed away 30 years prior.

Despite this unfortunate turn of events, the ministry official was determined to find a living relative who could be contacted. Using the information in the database, the official successfully made contact with a 65-year-old cousin residing in Gyeonggi Province, located near Seoul. The South Korean cousin readily agreed to help facilitate contact with the North Korean relative, expressing a desire for the reunification of families separated by the war.