2nd group of S.Koreans gather for reunion with DPRK relatives

The second group of South Koreans, selected to participate in the reunion event with long-lost families from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), were gathering in Sokcho city Friday to prepare for the upcoming meeting over the weekend.

The first stage of reunion for families, separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, ended on Thursday after a three-day program, including six meetings allowed only two hours each following more than six decades of separation.

For the second round, which will run from Saturday to Monday at the DPRK's scenic resort of Mount Kumgang, a total of 255 South Koreans from 90 families are scheduled to meet their 188 DPRK relatives.

All of the South Korean participants should arrive in Sokcho, near the demilitarized zone in the northeast region, by Friday to make preparations.

The participants, mostly in their 80s and 90s, would receive medical check-ups and education on dos and don'ts in the DPRK territory. They spent the night in a Sokcho resort, before heading for the reunion venue in the North Saturday morning.

As with the first stage, the elderly South Koreans will be given just 12 hours of face time with their DPRK relatives, who they have never seen since the Korean War ended with armistice in 1953. Since the war, no civilian exchange of letters and telephone calls has been allowed between people of the two Koreas.

The humanitarian event was agreed between the two Koreas in late August when top-level military officials met to defuse tensions on the Korean peninsula which had been put in danger of an armed conflict. Enditem