Kim Yeon-cheol, Minister of Unification, "Urgent Measures Needed"
"All Options Including In-Person and Video Reunions Will Be Fully Mobilized"
Minister of Unification Kim Yeon-cheol is delivering a greeting at the Joint Manghyangje held at the Mangbaedan in Imjingak, Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on the Lunar New Year, the 25th. Kim Yeon-cheol, Minister of Unification, stated on the 25th, "We are also considering a method for the government to support the costs for elderly separated family members to visit North Korea."
Minister Kim made these remarks in an encouragement speech at the '36th Manghyang Memorial Ceremony' held at the Imjingak Mangbaedan in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on the morning of Lunar New Year's Day.
This is interpreted as a statement reflecting the government's plan to allow separated families and social organizations to visit Mount Kumgang or Kaesong for non-profit purposes as one of the individual tourism methods to North Korea.
He said, "More than 75% of the elderly wish to visit their hometowns (in North Korea)," emphasizing, "Meeting separated family members and visiting the beloved hometown is a very natural thing, and no one can stop it for any reason."
Minister Kim added, "We will mobilize all possible measures, including face-to-face reunions, confirmation of life and death, video reunions, exchanging video letters, and regular reunions through renovation of visitation centers."
On the same day, Minister Kim comforted the pain of separation by offering flowers and incense together with the separated families.
He bowed his head, saying, "The government has placed the resolution of the separated families issue as the top priority in inter-Korean relations and has made many efforts, but it has not yet fulfilled the earnest wishes of the elderly separated families."
The Tongil Gyeongmohoe, an organization of displaced persons, holds the 'Manghyang Memorial Ceremony' every Lunar New Year's Day, inviting displaced persons and North Korean defectors to soothe the sorrow of separation and honor ancestors in the North.
The displaced persons laid out carefully prepared food and performed ancestral rites facing north.
The Ministry of Unification provided transportation convenience for the displaced persons participating in the event that day.
Meanwhile, as of last year, the total number of separated family reunion applicants registered with the Korean Red Cross was 133,365, of whom 52,997 (39.7%) are alive. Already, 6 out of 10 have passed away while waiting for reunions.
Kim Yeon-chul, Minister of Unification, is offering flowers at the Joint Manghyangje held at the Mangbaedan in Imjingak, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do on the Lunar New Year, the 25th.
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