ROK prepares to consult with DPRK on video reunions of separated families

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea (ROK)'s unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said Wednesday that it was preparing to consult with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on the video reunions of Korean families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

Baik Tae-hyun, unification ministry's spokesman, told a routine press briefing that preparations were underway before consulting with the DPRK on the video reunions and the exchange of video messages among the separated families.

He said the issue would be discussed between the two Koreas at the inter-Korean liaison office in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong, after the completion of internal preparations and discussions among relevant ministries.

ROK's President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un agreed in their third summit in Pyongyang last September to hold the video reunions and the exchange of video messages for the separated families.

The families of the two Koreas have been banned from meeting and contacting their relatives on the other side of the Korean Peninsula since the Korean War ended with armistice in 1953.

ROK recently won sanctions waiver from the UN Security Council to send necessary equipment to the DPRK for the video reunion event.

The latest face-to-face reunions of the separated families were held in August last year, the first such event in about three years.