SEOUL, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Eighty divided families in North and South Korea took part in "virtual reunions" Monday and Tuesday via a cross-border video link, the Korea Herald reported.
For many of the 575 people who participated in the two-hour sessions, it was the first time to see their relatives in over 50 years.
Fiber optic video cables laid last year connect Red Cross centers across South Korea with the Koryo Hotel in Pyongyang, making it possible for families to communicate across the border. Each family is allowed two hours to spend with their relatives.
In addition to such virtual reunions, the two Koreas have held 12 face-to-face reunions since June 2000, when the North and South leaders held their first summit. The meetings have brought together about 12,000 people.
After the division of the Korean Peninsula in 1945 and the subsequent Korean War, millions of Korean families were separated. There is no direct mail, telephone service or other form of communication between ordinary citizens across the border.
