South Koreans cross DMZ into North Korea for rare family reunions

A group of mostly elderly South Koreans crossed into North Korea Monday to reunite with family members many haven't seen nor heard from since the Korean War broke out 68 years ago.

The reunions are the first since 2015, agreed to under the Panmunjom Declaration signed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during an historic summit earlier this year.

More than 57,000 people had been hoping to take part in the reunions, but of those only 93 families were selected, four of whom had to pull out at the last minute due to health reasons.

More than 60% of those seeking reunions are over 80 years old, and are being accompanied on the bus trip north by their children and other relatives.

The South Koreans gathered Sunday at the Hanwha resort hotel, south of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) which separates the two Koreas, where medical checks were carried out and participants were warned about nuances of visiting North Korea. They're told to avoid saying anything that could be misconstrued, or considered insensitive north of the border.

Participants were applauded by Red Cross workers as they arrived, some in wheelchairs, passing under banners reading "We sincerely congratulate the reunions of the separated families!"

In the hotel there was an air of excitement and tension as they prepared to meet husbands, wives, brothers, sisters and children who are now only vague memories, their faces blurred by time.

They then registered their names and were invited to take a professional family photo in a corner of the lobby. It was then framed for them so they could then take it to North Korea as a gift.

Park Kyung-seo, president of the South Korean Red Cross, told CNN that while he was overjoyed to be assisting in family reunions, the small number of those taking part was a "human tragedy."

"I share fully with the disappointment of those who are not selected so I am trying with North Korean partners to try and find other solutions, huge numbers are waiting, the numbers are very much limited," he said.

"Imagine 73 years long without knowing whether their family members are still alive or passed away -- no news at all. The agony and anger, that's an unthinkable human tragedy."

Ahn Seung-chun was headed to North Korea to see family members she's never met. "I applied to see my older brother," he said. "But he passed so I'll never see him now."

"I'm going to see my nephew and my brother's wife," she added. On one hand, I'm sad that I won't see my brother. But on the other hand, I'm happy to meet the nephew. At least I will be meeting a fruit of my father."

Dokgo Ran was separated from his entire immediate family during the Korean War, and never expected to see them again.

"The Red Cross asked around for my family and helped me reunite. I'm grateful," he said.

In the decades since the Korean War, the Red Cross has reunited many families but thousands of others have missed out.

As family members age, each delay adds to fears that they'll no longer be around to finally meet with their long lost relatives. More than 75,000 applicants have already passed away since the reunion process began.

One protester attended Sunday's event to voice his elderly father's case for a reunion, after the man was unlucky this round.

"I don't know when he will die. He is beginning to show signs of dementia. Before he loses everything, he wants to go too," Kim Seong-jin said. "But all he can do is to watch through television each time and get hurt."

Amid all the joy and happy scenes on both sides of the border this week, this is the reality for most whose families remain split by the Korean War.

"My father is all alone here in the South. Can you imagine how much he misses his family?" Kim said. "He wants to hear the news of his hometown before he dies."