SEOUL, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- South Korea proposed high-level talks Monday with North Korea, aimed at reuniting families, in particular aging family members, separated by Korea's territorial division.
Family reunions persist as an emotional issue for Koreans. An agreement between the two countries in February allowed some citizens of both sides to briefly meet relatives for the first time. Thousands of people, many in their 80s, await an opportunity to communicate with relatives across a divided country; no telephone, mail or e-mail exchanges are allowed between North and South Korea.
A message from South Korea's Unification Ministry suggested an Aug. 17 start of negotiations at Panmunjom, the site of the 1953 armistice ending the Korean War, to permit a new series of family reunions around Sept. 8. That is the date of a Korean Thanksgiving-styled holiday typically reserved for family gatherings.
North Korean authorities did not immediately respond to the idea.
The message was sent on the day South Korea pledged $13.3 million to the World Food Program and the World Health Organization to provide food, medicine and other assistance to malnourished North Korean babies and nursing mothers.
