Reunions for separated Korean families begin at Mt. Kumgang

Arirang News 2018-08-24

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이산가족 오후부터 2차 상봉 시작

This week saw the first round of inter-Korean family reunions in three years. And today a second round has begun, bringing together a different set of families.
The South Koreans arrived at Mount Kumgang, in the North, this afternoon... where their relatives were waiting.
Let's turn to our Park Hee-jun, who's been covering the story for us.
Hee-jun, what's the latest?

Devin.
The separated families have been reunited,... and they are spending time together at the reunion center as we speak.

The 81 selected North Koreans and their South Korean relatives, numbering 326 people, are attending the group session.
We're still waiting to hear from the press pool on the details of the meeting,... but it's sure to be incredibly emotional.
Remember, this is the first time they're seeing each other since they were torn apart by the Korean War nearly 70 years ago.
Two hours is going to be too brief, so they'll be making every minute count,... while waiting for the next opportunity to catch up on each other's lives tomorrow.
And after the first round of the reunion,... the first day will end with a welcoming dinner, hosted by South Korea.
In total, for day one, they'll have had four hours to spend together.

Did everyone get there safely? The typhoon was right on the east coast this morning, maybe a little too close for comfort.

You're right.
It was a very wet and windy journey for the South Korean participants as they headed to Mount Kumgang this morning.

There was heavy rain in the areas their buses had to pass through.
And that meant they arrived at the venue a little bit later than scheduled,... at around 2PM.
Many were worried that Typhoon Soulik would mean delays or rescheduling.
Seoul's Unification Ministry and South Korean President Moon Jae-in also said yesterday that rearranging the schedule for the reunion could be an option if the typhoon became too powerful.
But so far, though, it seems like there's no change in plans.
The typhoon has already moved into the East Sea.
Hopefully, the weather will clear up very soon so that the families can make the most of their limited time together.
Devin.

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