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A reunion of families separated by the Korean War, the first since the second inter-Korean summit, will be held at Mt. Kumgang from Oct. 17 to 22. During the reunion, which is the 16th of its kind, 97 North Koreans will meet around 400 of their family members from South Korea during Oct. 17 to 19. And during Oct. 20 to 22, 94 South Koreans will reunite with around 250 of their loved ones living in the North. But there isn¡¯t a single family representing South Korean POWs or victims of North Korean abductions.
Since the second reunion of separated family members back in November 2000 and until the 15th reunion, one to four victims of North Korean abduction and South Korean POWs had been allowed in each round to reunite with their family members. They were classified as ¡°special-case¡± separated families. This is the first reunion where no one from those groups has been included. Granted this round of reunions involves fewer people, but the ongoing reunions of POWs and abduction victims were halted right after the inter-Korean summit, which has been touted as having led to radical developments. In his speech to the public on the results of the summit, President Roh Moo-hyun said he had discussed the issue of South Korean POWs, but without progress. But no one imagined reunions of these people with their families would end as well.
North Korea does not officially admit the existence of South Korean POWs and abduction victims. The South Korean government is afraid to raise the issue for fear of upsetting North Korea. During Red Cross talks between the two Koreas in April, South Korean officials said they would verify which POWs and abduction victims were still alive and push for separate reunions for these people. But they ended up caving in to North Korea¡¯s demand that such people are included in small groups during the regular family reunions. North Korea has not even delivered on that promise.
An official at South Korea¡¯s Unification Ministry said Seoul wanted to know whether 20 POWs and abduction victims were still alive, but North Korea sent back a response saying one had died, while it was impossible to verify the status of the other 19. North Korea may be in disarray, but it is hard to believe it is impossible to verify the status of 19 out of the 20 people. South Korean POWs and abduction victims are placed under surveillance in North Korea. Abducted South Korean fisherman Koh Myung-sup and POW Yang Han-sup, who North Korea had said was unable to locate, ended up returning to the South after escaping the North. The Unification Ministry was busy offering excuses, saying there was no link between the latest reunion and the recent summit. The official said the North offered the list of families to be reunited two weeks before the summit. But the inter-Korean summit was announced long before that.
The South Korean government is excited right now over the Joint Declaration, even putting together a planning committee. But behind the scenes, South Korean POWs, abduction victims and their families are suffering.
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