North Korea Accepts South Korea’s Proposal Regarding Family Reunions

On Sunday, North Korea openly accepted the offer by South Korea to talk about the terminated program to reunite families that were separated in the Korean War. South Korea invited long time adversary North Korea to discuss the reunion of families with a persistence and willingness to set things right for the welfare of the many. However, Pyongyang in turn presented a second agenda in connection to the family reunion proposal from Seoul.

Diamond Mountain

North Korea’s attempt to link the South Korean proposal to its own agenda concerns the formerly profitable scenic tours on a North Korean mountain. The Diamond Mountain in North Korea was a popular tourist spot. South Korean tourists were allowed to visit.

Known to locals as Mount Kumgang this landmark mountain has a one of a kind view. The Mt. Kumgang Tourist Region has been open to the public since 1998 and was jointly run by South and North Korean employees. Food and various services to the South Korean patrons were provided by a number of North Korean employees. Majority of hotel staff were Chinese citizens with North Korean roots.
Thousands of tourists patronized the scenic tours and a gradual increase in numbers was noted after each passing year. In 2005, the one-millionth visitor of the Diamond Mountain was even announced by Hyundai Asia. Hyundai Asia was the developer of the place and had many plans to further improve the sites and facilities.

Photo Credit: Satellite Image of Korea

The 2008 incident

However, South Koreans were prohibited to go to the Diamond Mountain since a shooting incident of a South Korean national occurred in July of 2008. The 53-year old tourist named Park Wang-Ja was fatally shot by a North Korean guard whose superiors insisted that the victim continued to flee despite warnings to keep out of an off-limits area. South Korean spokespersons asked for an on-the-spot investigation. The North declined to such measures and from that point on, South Korea suspended all trips and visits to the mountain.

North Korea’s intention

The response to South Korea’s proposal was done by an unidentified spokesman from North Korea. In a statement given by the unnamed representative of Pyongyang’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, North Korea said it would cooperate with regard to the reunion talks, but insisted that the venue be at the Diamond Mountain. South Korea proposed to hold the meeting at Panmunjom, a village located in the South.

A professor in Kyungnam University in South Korea commented that the intention of North Korea regarding the reunion talks is quite obvious. Lim Eul Chul stated that North Korea is grabbing the opportunity given by the proposal from South Korea as an opportunity to seek for resumption of business on Diamond Mountain.

An important step

Nevertheless, the Unification Ministry of South Korea gave a statement on Sunday that they view North Korea’s decision as a positive answer regarding their proposal for the Red Cross talks on the reunions. However, the South Korean side sticks to their proposed meeting place (Panmunjom). The ministry also added that North Korea’s proposal for the resumption of mountain tours is still open to review.

Photo Credit: Satellite Image of Korea