SEOUL, South Korea – Hundreds of South Koreans crossed the heavily armed North Korean border yesterday to reunite with relatives they haven't seen in more than 50 years.
The face-to-face reunions at the North's Diamond Mountain resort will also bring together a South Korean man allegedly kidnapped by the North in 1978 and his Southern family.
Yesterday, the first group of more than 400 South Koreans was reunited with their relatives in the North, having been separated since the 1950-53 Korean War.
During the series of three-day reunions – which last through June 30 – more than 1,700 Koreans will meet, the South's Unification Ministry said.
The alleged kidnapping victim, Kim Yong-nam, who was 16 when he disappeared, will also be allowed to meet his South Korean relatives next week. DNA tests show that Kim very likely fathered a child in North Korea with a Japanese abductee, Megumi Yokota.
The North said this month that Kim had been found in the country without saying how he got there, and that he would be allowed to take part in a reunion.
Kim is among 490 South Korean civilians believed held in the communist state after being kidnapped. North Korea claims they voluntarily defected.
Following the historic 2000 summit, when the leaders of the rival Koreas pledged to work toward peace and reconciliation, numerous other face-to-face reunions have brought together more than 14,500 Koreans. Others have also met over video links.
