Separated family exchanges haven't occurred in over a year, Unification Ministry reports

Private exchanges between family members separated during the 1950-53 Korean War haven't taken place for over a year, according to South Korean government data Tuesday.

South Korean separated family members register their DNA at the first Separated Families Day event held at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on Sept. 27, 2023. [NEWS1]

Private exchanges between family members separated during the 1950-53 Korean War haven't taken place for over a year, according to South Korean government data Tuesday. The South Korean Unification Ministry's monthly report on the status of inter-Korean separated family exchanges for June 2024 said there were no private exchanges in the first half of the year.

This marks over a year since the last private exchange occurred, a significant drop from the previous years when such exchanges continued despite the halting of government-led projects.

Inter-Korean exchanges involving separated family members are categorized into two main types: government-level and private-level activities.

Government-level activities include confirmation of life and death, letter exchanges, reunions in the South, reunions in the North and video reunions.

Private-level activities involve confirmation of life and death, letter exchanges and reunions facilitated by intermediaries. For the latter, participating South Korean separated family members are still required to report these activities to the authorities.

The last recorded inter-Korean separated family exchange involved two letter exchanges through private intermediaries in February last year, marking the lowest number of exchanges since 1990.

After the suspension of government-level separated family exchanges in 2018, sporadic letter exchanges and life and death confirmations continued despite strained inter-Korean relations and global travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, these activities have completely halted over the past year.

The government is closely monitoring to see if the private exchanges of separated family members could resume following the reopening of North Korea's borders in the latter half of last year.

As of the end of June this year, 38,139 individuals registered with the government as separated family members were still alive, a decrease of 1,454 from the end of last year. Among them, 66.9 percent are aged 80 or older.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]