DATE=8/18/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=KOREA REUNION ENDS (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-265615
BYLINE=AMY BICKERS
DATELINE=SEOUL
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The reunion of 200 divided Korean families
came to a bittersweet end on Friday. As V-O-A's Amy
Bickers reports from Seoul, the family members
embraced and said tearful good-byes -- not knowing if
they will be able to meet again.
TEXT: The 100 North Koreans who came to Seoul to meet
with their families bid them emotional farewells
Friday in a hotel parking lot. Thousands of police
formed a corridor around the buses, which whisked the
North Koreans to the airport. In Pyongyang, the
visiting 100 South Koreans also said heartfelt good-
byes to their Northern relatives before flying back to
Seoul.
The reunion itself was a tightly controlled four-day
affair. Meetings between relatives were conducted in
hotels, except for one man and his frail, elderly
mother. At the last minute, he was allowed to see her
in the hospital. Each visiting North Korean was
allowed to visit with just five South Korean family
members.
They met privately for two hours on each of two days.
South Korean officials took the North Koreans on tours
of cultural sites -- without their families. They ate
some meals together, but the final banquet Thursday
night was only for the North Koreans, the officials
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
