Koreas to hold Oct. 20-26 reunions of war-divided families

[Paladin]

This is actually quite a good thing. The war was over 60 years ago and only now are families being reunited.

"SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North and South Korea agreed Tuesday to hold reunions next month of families separated by the Korean War in the early 1950s, a small but important bit of progress for rivals that just last month were threatening each other with war.

One hundred mostly elderly people from each country will be reunited with their relatives Oct. 20-26 at the Diamond Mountain resort in North Korea, according to Seoul's Unification Ministry and North Korean state media.

The decision came after overnight talks among the Koreas' Red Cross officials at the border village of Panmunjom that began Monday. The Koreas initially agreed to push for the reunions after striking a deal last month that eased a standoff that had flared after a mine explosion blamed on Pyongyang maimed two South Korean soldiers.

The highly emotional reunions have not happened since early last year. But even Tuesday's announcement doesn't guarantee success. The rivals have a long history of failing to follow through on reconciliation efforts.

Planned reunions in 2013 were scrapped at the last minute because of North Korean anger in part over its claims the South was trying to overthrow Pyongyang's government.

Most applicants are in their 70s or older and desperate to see their loved ones before they die. Many Koreans don't even know whether relatives on the other side of the border are still alive because their governments mostly ban the exchange of letters, phone calls or email."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_KOREAS_TENSION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-09-07-22-35-34

[mountaineer]

North Korean defector: Kim Jong Un's days are numbered
By Kyung Lah, CNN
Updated 8:15 AM ET, Tue September 8, 2015


(CNN)—He's a fairly young man, wearing an ill-fitting suit. His thin neck is pronounced, giving way to an equally thin face and frame. We're meeting over a meal of sushi, something he specifically requested because it's rare for those trapped in North Korea.

For his safety, I'll limit descriptions of this defector. We've agreed that I can say he worked among the elites in Pyongyang. He is by far, the most recent defector I've ever interviewed; he's only been in the free world for a year.

CNN found him through university researchers, working in conjunction with the South Korean government, who verified his status as a North Korean defector.

He stresses that revealing much more than these few details could endanger his family, still trapped in the Hermit Kingdom. He also fears North Korea could manage to hunt him down in his new life. But he's talking to me to get a message to the West out.

He believes that among North Korea's dictators, the dynasty of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and now Kim Jong Un, "It is Kim Jong Un's regime that is the most unstable. And it is going to be the shortest." ...

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