South Korea and North Korea finalize list of families to reunite

South Korea and North Korea on September 16 exchanged the final list of families separated by the 1950-1953 Korean War who will participate in the upcoming reunions after a three-year hiatus.

In a statement, the Korean Red Cross (KNRC) said it had sent Pyongyang a final list of 96 South Koreans who will participate in the event.

An elderly South Korean woman checks the list of applicants to participate in the reunion of separated families. (Source: Yonhap/VNA)

According to Seoul's liaison office located in the truce village of Panmunjom, Seoul's initial list expected more than 100 people to participate in the reunion, but many decided not to participate due to health reasons.

Also on September 16, North Korea sent to Seoul a list of 100 of its citizens who will participate in the event.

The reunion of separated families is scheduled to take place from September 25-30 at the Mount Kumgang tourist resort. This is the first reunion between the two Koreas since South Korean President Park Geun-Hye took office.

South and North Korea first held reunions for separated families in 2000 and have since held 18 similar reunions for 20,000 people who have not seen their relatives since the Korean War. However, due to tense relations between the two Koreas, no reunions have been held since 2010./.

According to (TTXVN) - DT