*** TOPIC OF THE WEEK (Part 2)

Two Koreas Agree to Hold First Family Reunions in One Year

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- In a sign of tension easing on the Korean Peninsula, South and North Korea have agreed to hold a new round of reunions for families separated by the Korean War (1950-1953) from Oct. 30 to Nov. 5 at the Mount Kumgang resort in North Korea, officials said on Oct. 1.

   The agreement to hold the temporary reunions of 100 families from each side at the eastern mountain resort came after two previous rounds of Red Cross talks bogged down over a spat concerning details of the event.

   During the third round of working-level talks held between the two Koreas in Kaesong, the parties finally agreed that the reunions would be held starting Oct. 30 and finish Nov. 5. The families will be reunited with their loved ones at the reunion center and Mount Kumgang Hotel, both located at the Mount Kumgang tourism resort.

   Tours to the mountain were halted in 2008 after a South Korean tourist was killed by a North Korean soldier.

   The first two rounds of talks, which took place on Sept. 17 and 24, forced both parties to go home empty handed after North Korea demanded the resumption of cross-border tours as a pre-condition to the reunions.

   South Korea had initially requested to regularize the reunions on a larger scale to help more separated family members reunite, but North Korea refused in this round of negotiations.

   As a result, the two Koreas will hold Red Cross talks beginning Oct. 26 for two days in Kaesong to discuss making reunions more frequent, as well as other humanitarian issues. After three rounds of talks in September, the two Koreas agreed to arrange the family reunions, which were last held a year ago.

   The agreement came amid a series of political developments in Pyongyang, where the North's aging leader, Kim Jong-il, recently named his third son, Jong-un, a military general and virtually tapped him to become the next leader of the socialist state. Analysts believe the senior Kim is trying to create an environment favorable to the power transfer.

   During the third round of Red Cross talks held in Kaesong, a North Korean city near the inter-Korean border, both sides also agreed to hold another round of talks on Oct. 26 and 27 in the city to discuss issues to holding the reunions of the separated families on a regular basis, said Kim Eyi-do, a unification ministry official.

   In previous talks, the North demanded that the South first resume its cross-border tours to the resort before the Seoul-owned reunion center there could be used for the event. Seoul refused to tie the reunions to the tours, which stopped when a Seoul woman was shot dead there in July 2008 after wandering into a barred area.

   "The North agreed to hold the reunions unconditionally at the reunion center for this occasion," Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung told reporters, suggesting the North maintains it will retain its seizure of the reunion center.

   Angry with the South's suspension of tours, North Korea either froze or seized all South Korean facilities at the Mount Kumgang resort earlier this year, including the reunion center and shops.

   Chun said the North demanded on Oct. 1 that the two governments hold direct talks to discuss ways to resume the Kumgang mountain tours, a lucrative source of money for the cash-strapped North.

   "We responded by saying that our side will consider the proposal," he said.

   The agreement to hold the reunions adds to signs that the two countries are seeking to improve their relations after tension spiked earlier this year over the sinking of a South Korean warship.

   Forty-six sailors died in the March 26 sinking that the South blames on the North, which denies any involvement.

   Since late August when Kim Jong-il visited China, Pyongyang has been making conciliatory gestures toward Seoul, freeing the crew of a South Korean fishing boat and proposing the reunions of families separated by the Korean War, which ended in a truce.

   More than 80,000 South Koreans are waiting for a chance to be reunited, however briefly, with their loved ones who were left in the North after the war ended. An average of nearly 260 of those waiting die each month, according to the Red Cross, South Korea's main channel for humanitarian cooperation with the North.

   Only 20,800 family members have had a chance to be reunited since 2000 when the two Koreas held their first summit. About one-fifth of them have been reunited via video. Virtually no means of contact is available between the citizens of the two countries.

   On Oct. 5, South and North Korea each exchanged lists of 200 families who are seeking reunions with their families and kin separated across the border.

   The Red Cross in Seoul said it sent to North Korea the list of 200 applicants for the family reunions. The Pyongyang side also provided its list of 200, it said.

   Seoul's Red Cross narrowed down the list of applicants from an initial 500 through a draw after confirming their physical conditions and willingness to make the trip.

   The two Koreas will each search for the whereabouts of the applicants' family members and will exchange the results on Oct. 13. They will select 100 people from each side for the final list on Oct. 25.

   North Korean applicants will meet with their relatives in the South from Oct. 30-Nov. 2. South Koreans will be reunited with their kin living in the North from Nov. 3-5.

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