'Nearly half of surviving separated families have died without reuniting'

President pledges DNA collection, expanded overseas survey

President Lee Jae Myung delivers a keynote address at the UN General Assembly hall in New York on Tuesday (local time). [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung delivers a keynote address at the UN General Assembly hall in New York on Tuesday (local time). [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday he would work to reopen dialogue with North Korea — beginning with confirming whether separated family members are still alive — to resume inter-Korean family reunions that have been suspended for eight years, marking chuseok and the fourth annual Separated Families Day.

Lee delivered the message through a written address read on his behalf by Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young at a ceremony marking the occasion Wednesday morning. "To separated families in South Korea, North Korea and abroad, and to the distinguished guests gathered here today — I extend my warmest greetings on Separated Families Day and on the occasion of chuseok, our national holiday," Lee said to open the address.

"Every holiday season, families come together to share warmth and affection," he said. "But for separated families, the holidays are also a time when the anguish of a still-divided peninsula cuts even deeper. When I think of how profound that longing must be, I feel both sorry and heavy-hearted."

Lee underscored the urgency of the issue and made clear his government's willingness to engage Pyongyang. "The separated families question is the most pressing problem the two Koreas must resolve," he said. "Eight years have already passed since the last reunion in 2018. In that time, nearly half of the separated family members who were still alive have passed away without ever fulfilling their wish. This is a task we can no longer delay or defer."

"Families should be able to contact and meet one another no matter where in the world they are," he went on to say. "Families separated between South and North are no different. It is time to move beyond hostility and confrontation so that the two Koreas can respect each other and engage in stable exchanges."

"The mistrust between the two Koreas runs deep right now, but our government will not give up on the path to peace — we will steadily open the way for dialogue," Lee said. "We will do our utmost to bring the two sides back to the table and work through this issue, starting with confirming whether separated family members are alive."

Lee also outlined government-level measures to prepare for reunions and preserve records. "We will systematically collect DNA information from separated families so that we are fully prepared for future confirmation of family ties and reunions," he said. "We will also gather and safeguard the life records of separated families, so that the pain of division becomes a memory that reminds us of the value of peace."

Lee extended his commitment to separated families living abroad, noting that more than 40 had traveled from overseas to attend Wednesday's ceremony. "We will embrace the hearts of those who left their hometowns and families amid the turmoil of division and have spent long years carrying that longing in a foreign land," he said. "We will expand our survey of the situation facing separated families overseas and listen carefully to your voices."

Lee closed with a message to separated families in North Korea. "Wherever you live, the feelings you hold toward your family will be no different," he said. "I also send warm greetings to separated families in the North, who must be carrying the same longing as the chuseok holiday approaches. We will do everything we can to bring forward, even by a single day, the moment when we can hold each other's hands and ask how the other is doing. Until that day comes, we will always be with you."


sunpine@heraldcorp.com