North Korea rejects talks on family reunions
Iran Press TV
Thu Mar 6, 2014 2:39PM GMT
North Korea has rejected a request from the South for talks on reunions for families separated by the Korean War amid simmering military tensions between the two neighbors.
North Korea on Thursday said 'the proper atmosphere has not been created to discuss family reunions,' the South's Unification Ministry said in a statement.
The response came one day after Seoul had proposed a meeting on March 12 at the border truce village of Panmunjom.
Seoul regretted the North's decision, saying the issue of reuniting families separated by the Korean War should be a 'top priority' for both countries.
Tensions have been running high amid the South's joint military drills with the United States. This was further escalated following a recent series of North Korean rocket and missile tests.
Last week, the two Koreas wrapped up the first of such family reunions after more than three years, which were held last month at Mount Kumgang, a mountain resort in North Korea's southeastern coast.
The event was seen as a significant step and had fuelled hopes of greater inter-Korean cooperation.
On Tuesday, South Korean President Park Geun-hye called for reunions to be held on a regular basis and urged more ways, including by mail and video conferencing, to be allowed for separated families to communicate.
The Korean War - which ended with an armistice in 1953 - has left the two countries technically at war, with almost no direct contact permitted between their civilian populations.
Some 71,000 Koreans, mostly aged over 70, are still alive and wait-listed for the reunion events.
MRS/AB
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