Second session of inter-Korean family reunions begins Friday
- 6 years ago
The second round of inter-Korean family reunions begins this Friday… following the first three-day session which took place earlier this week.
Our Kan Hyeong-woo is in Sokcho where the South Korean families will take leave for the Mount Kumgang resort in the coming hours.
So Hyeong-woo, it looks like it's raining quite a bit over there. Walk us through what's on the agenda for today.
Well Mark... as you can see, this area is clearly being affected by Typhoon Soulik. It started raining earlier this morning and it doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon.
But even the typhoon couldn't stop the long-awaited reunion... the 326 South Korean relatives of the 81 North Korean participants left Sokcho about an hour ago.
Seoul's Unification Ministry says it will closely monitor the weather conditions and make sure that safety comes before anything else.
They will enter North Korea through the customs, immigration, and quarantine office at Goseong, and are expected to arrive at Mount Kumgang before 1 PM, Korea time.
After having an individual lunch, they will finally be able to meet their relatives for the first time in decades.
They will have two hours from 3 to 5 PM to catch up,… asking each other how they've lived, where they live now, and everything else in between.
After the first gathering, they will meet once more for the welcoming banquet hosted by South Korea to end their first night in the North.
According to the latest prediction by the Korea Meteorological Administration, at around noon Typhoon Soulik is now expected to be passing through the city of Gangneung which is only about 120 kilometers south from Mount Kumgang. ( )
So the officials on-site have been checking the facilities and the two Koreas are staying in close contact in case of emergencies. Back to you Mark
Our Kan Hyeong-woo is in Sokcho where the South Korean families will take leave for the Mount Kumgang resort in the coming hours.
So Hyeong-woo, it looks like it's raining quite a bit over there. Walk us through what's on the agenda for today.
Well Mark... as you can see, this area is clearly being affected by Typhoon Soulik. It started raining earlier this morning and it doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon.
But even the typhoon couldn't stop the long-awaited reunion... the 326 South Korean relatives of the 81 North Korean participants left Sokcho about an hour ago.
Seoul's Unification Ministry says it will closely monitor the weather conditions and make sure that safety comes before anything else.
They will enter North Korea through the customs, immigration, and quarantine office at Goseong, and are expected to arrive at Mount Kumgang before 1 PM, Korea time.
After having an individual lunch, they will finally be able to meet their relatives for the first time in decades.
They will have two hours from 3 to 5 PM to catch up,… asking each other how they've lived, where they live now, and everything else in between.
After the first gathering, they will meet once more for the welcoming banquet hosted by South Korea to end their first night in the North.
According to the latest prediction by the Korea Meteorological Administration, at around noon Typhoon Soulik is now expected to be passing through the city of Gangneung which is only about 120 kilometers south from Mount Kumgang. ( )
So the officials on-site have been checking the facilities and the two Koreas are staying in close contact in case of emergencies. Back to you Mark