Asia-Pacific

DPRK:ROK responsible for reunion talks' failure

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-09-26 08:20

PYONGYANG - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has criticized South Korea over its "insincere attitude" in the second round of north-south Red Cross working contact for family reunions, the official KCNA news agency reported on Saturday.

The latest talks on reunion of separated families and relatives were held in kaesong on Friday, but due to South Korea's "insincere attitude," both sides failed to agree on all related issues, including the date, scope and venue for the reunion, said the report.

The DPRK had proposed discussing the scope and venue of the reunion of separated families, and opening the north-south Red Cross official talks in mid-October.

After South Korea proposed the Mt. Kumgang Reunion Center as the venue of the reunion, the DPRK sent its officials concerned to attend the meeting to show its sincerity.

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However, South Korea took an insincere attitude toward the contact by overturning all the agreed points including the date of reunion and the date of exchange of list of persons to be involved in the reunion,insisting that it was impossible to adopt an agreement unless the issue of the venue of the reunion was settled, said the KCNA report.

Both sides decided to hold the third round of inter-Korean Red Cross working contact on family reunion in Kaesong on October 1.

The first round of such talks was held in Kaesong on September 17.

The Red Cross Society of the DPRK sent a notice on September 10 to the South Korean Red Cross, proposing holding a working contact of Red Cross organizations of the north and the south for arranging a reunion of separated families and their relatives.

The DPRK and South Korea held the first reunion of separated families and their relatives in August 2008. Up to September, 2009, there had been 17 times of reunion and more than 16000 people had met their relatives.