hankyoreh

North Koreans fill the streets of Pyongyang to welcome South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the North‘s top leader Kim Jong-un on a convoy parade through the streets of Pyongyang on Sept. 18

It is believed that the two Koreas have reached agreement on leaving the Mount Kumgang reception house permanently open for families separated by the Korean War. If the reception house remains open, separated families would be able to see each other more regularly than in the past.

Only 21 face-to-face reunions have been held in the 18 years since the first inter-Korean summit in 2000, and such meetings were limited to 100 people from each side. By creating a permanent venue for communication, exchange and communication between the two Koreas, the establishment of an Inter-Korean Liaison Office in the west near the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the Mount Kumgang reception house in the west holds historic significance.

Multiple sources related to inter-Korean deliberations prior to the Pyongyang summit said, “Through a number of negotiation channels, the two Koreas have come closer to agreement on solutions to the issue of divided families, including running the Mount Kumgang reception house as a permanent meeting point. It is likely that this will be included in the expected agreement in Pyongyang.”

On this point, in a Sept. 17 briefing about the summit held at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) Press Center in Seoul on the same day, Blue House Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok outlined the three key issues that will be addressed at the meeting, adding “There will also be in-depth discussions on fundamental solutions to the suffering of divided families.”

In the question and answer session that followed, Im went on to say, “We have suggested a number of measures to the North that would allow families confirm whether their loved ones are still alive and meet them, including making the reception house permanently open, allowing families to meet at any time and determining the fate of family members through a complete enumeration survey.”

He spoke with a sense of confidence, adding “North Korea has also expressed interest in this issue, so I believe there may be good news even if the issue is not directly included in the written agreement.”

Construction of the Mount Kumgang reception house began on Aug. 31, 2005 during the participatory government and finished on July 12, 2008 during the first year of the Lee Myung-bak administration at a cost of 55 billion won (around US$49 million). However, the Lee administration suspended tourism on Mount Kumgang after the accidental fatal shooting of South Korean Park Wang-ja near the resort.

The reception house comprises 12 floors above ground and one basement floor and features a banquet hall and 206 rooms capable of housing up to 1000 guests. However, due to deterioration in inter-Korean relations during the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye governments, the reception house has only hosted five reunions (the 17th to 21st) for separated families since construction finished in 2008.

During the 21st reunion held from Aug. 24-28 this year, the banquet hall on the first floor had to be hastily refurbished for the group reunion and welcome banquet, as it had not been used in two years and eight months.

On the occasion of the 21st reunion, Korean Red Cross President Park Kyung-seo announced in two on-site press conferences that progress was being made on plans for additional exchanges, including a visit to Pyongyang in mid-September and another reunion for divided families at the end of October.

“We have reached an agreement with North Korea on holding another reunion by the end of this year,” Park stated at a press conference held within the Mount Kumgang reception house on Aug. 25.

“Although we still need to set a date, it should be possible near the end of October.” He went on to say, “As we were only able to use the first floor during the 21st reunion, we have also agreed to fully refurbish the reception house.”

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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