The situation, however, has changed recently. As separated families have had reunions across the border and as South Koreans remit money to their family and relatives in the North via China, those North Korean families who have relatives in South Korea are said to have become the envy of their neighbors. Rim also searched for his uncle living in the South. Through the offices of ethnic Korean Chinese traders who frequent the North and ethnic Koreans in China, he managed to locate his uncle within six months. The search was relatively simple because his uncle had written the address of his North Korean home in a document kept at the Office of Five North Korean Provinces in Seoul. Rim and his family have since been receiving regular remittances sent by his uncle and his family members, according to a go-between.

The number of North Koreans who search for their families and relations in the South, like Rim, have drastically increased in recent months. South Koreans have traditionally taken the initiative in searching for their relatives in the North through ethnic Koreans in China, but the trend has now been reversed with many North Koreans now making the first move, according to reliable sources.

In a bid to satisfy the ardent wish of his father, who was born in the South, An Kil-yong, 34 (alias), also a miner, set out in search for his South Korean relatives. Being unable to refuse his father's life-long wish to at least discover whether his South Korean relatives are alive before he dies, An took risks. An also hoped to receive financial assistance if he succeeded in his endeavor. Contacting secret ethnic Korean Chinese who visit the North on trade, he asked them to locate his father's siblings in the South, giving them the South Korean address of his father and the names of his brothers and sisters. Though it took quite a while, An successfully met his father's wish by being able to receive photographs and letters from his relatives in the South.

Such searches do not always end favorably, however, for North Koreans who manage to locate their South Korean relatives. Yi Song-yong, 34 (alias), a native of Hyanghae province, managed to locate his uncle-in-law in the South, only to find himself in an awkward situation upon learning his South Korean relatives were too poor to help him. In an effort to meet his mother's request that he locate her brother in the South, Yi reportedly went to China by bribing policemen and national security officials. He paid bribes to a North Korean guide and border guards, too, out of a big loan he took out. Yi assumed that once he located his South Korean relatives, that he would be able to pay the loan back.

He waited in China for 30 days to meet a relative coming from the South, but sadly his efforts were all in vain. Ethnic Koreans in China who initially looked after him then began to distance themselves from his struggle and did not have the funds to return home. Caught by the local security police, he somehow managed to escape while being taken to a detention camp. He is still in hiding in China.

Though the attitudes of the North Korean authorities and citizens towards the people whose family members live in the South have changed considerably in recent months, it remains extremely risky for them to attempt to contact their families and relations in the South. One is liable to be charged with espionage activities. In the worst case scenario, a go-between could even receive a death sentence.

When North Koreans search for their family and relatives in the South, the expenses borne by the latter are usually larger than before. Because the fate of North Korean relatives depends on intermediaries, South Koreans can hardly bargain on intermediary commissions requested. A Korean resident in the United States reportedly attempted to meet his North Korean relative in China directly this summer, without going through ethnic Koreans in China who demand large sums of money. His plan took a turn for the worse when he was assaulted by people in a Chinese town across the border from North Korea and then deprived of all his American dollars, according to the sources.

As living standards of North Koreans having family and relations in the South have suddenly improved, surveillance by the State Security Agency has intensified. If their contacts with South Korean families and relations are uncovered, they are often punished in addition to having money received from their South Korean relatives confiscated. A drastic increase in the frequency of formal reunions may be the only sure path to relieve the agony of Koreans who have been separated by the Korean War.

(Kang Chol-hwan, nkch@chosun.com )