ROK, DPRK to hold family reunion in Mt. Kumgang

SEOUL - South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday agreed to hold reunion of families separated by the Korean War (1950-53) for six days from Sept. 25 in Mount Kumgang.

"(Both sides agreed) the face-to-face reunion of separated families would be held from Sept. 25 to 30 in Mount Kumgang. One hundred people from the South and the North respectively will participate (in the reunion)," Kim Hyuung-seok, spokesman of Seoul 's Unification Ministry, told a press briefing.

South Korea originally hoped the reunion would be held in Seoul or Pyongyang, but it agreed that the event would be held in Mount Kumgang, which the DPRK insisted as the venue, the spokesman said.

The final list of people who will take part in the reunion event will be exchanged on Sept. 16 after verifying whether those subject to the event remain alive.

Video reunion will be held for two days from Oct. 22, with 40 families from both sides set to join the event, the spokesman said.

The two Koreas shared views of holding another family reunion in November, Kim said, noting that another Red Cross working-level contacts will be made right after the upcoming face-to-face reunion ends in late September.

The agreement was reached at working-level Red Cross dialogue between South Korea and the DPRK on Friday at the Peace House on the South Korean side of the truce village of Panmunjom, the first such contact in around three years.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye hoped that the reunion could be held around the Chuseok, one of the most important traditional holidays in South Korea that fall on Sept. 19 this year.