Separated Families

[Anchor Lead]

There’s a demographic here, often forgotten, that’s keenly interested in the geopolitical developments surrounding the Korean Peninsula: families separated by the Korean War. The majority of the survivors are over 80 years old now, and their numbers are falling fast. Advocates for the separated families say the leaders of South and North Korea must agree on holding family reunions before the year is over at the upcoming inter-Korean summit slated for April 27th.

[Pkg]

This video message containing memories from 65 years ago still hasn't been delivered to North Korea. This man's parents, who wanted to know if his siblings were still living in the North has already passed away. The last reunion of separated families took place in October 2015. Since then, roughly 7,800 reunion applicants have died without seeing their family members and 65% of the survivors are over 80 years old.

[Soundbite] Yong Wan-suk(81-year-old, Separated Family Member) : "Since I'm over 80, I hope to get some news before I die."

The government has put top priority on the family reunion issue, but North Korea hasn't responded to the effort, demanding instead the return of North Korean restaurant employees who had fled to South Korea. However, since North Korea has been clear about its commitment to improve inter-Korean relations this year, some significant progress is expected to be made at the upcoming inter-Korean summit. Time is short, but with North Korea's cooperation a family reunion can take place as early as on the 18th anniversary of the June 15th Inter-Korean Joint Declaration.