By Kim Young Shin

Journalists from all around the world have covered the first round of the 21st set of reunions for war-separated families in Korea, a follow-up measure to the Panmunjeom Declaration, held at the Mount Kumgang resort in North Korea from Aug. 20 to 22.

The New York Times described the heartwarming scenes of the family reunions in its article ”Korean Families, Separated for 6 Decades, Are Briefly Reunited."

The article said, “President Moon Jae-in of South Korea has pushed for new efforts to build trust between the two Koreas since his meeting with the North’s leader in April, as well as Mr. Kim’s summit meeting with President Trump in June.” It also mentioned what President Moon Jae-in said during his weekly meeting with senior secretaries on Aug. 20. “It is a disgrace for both the South and North Korean governments that these applicants died with lasting regrets, not even knowing whether their separated family members were alive or not.”

The Guardian introduced the story of Lee Su-nam who got to meet his brother who he had assumed dead in the Korean War (1950-1953), in an article published on Aug. 19. The paper quoted MIT politics professor Vipin Narang who said, “These may look like small goodwill gestures, but they are an important part of the trust-building process which North Korea has signaled it values.”

Closer to home, the Chinese state-run Xinhua Daily Telegraph published an article under the title “Reunion of Inter-Korean families sets peaceful atmosphere for third Inter-Korean Summit” on Aug. 21. It stated that, “These reunions are some of the major follow-up measures of the Panmunjeom Declaration,” and said, “The event, resumed after some three years at a critical moment for the solution of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, will have a positive effect on improving inter-Korean relations. It will also be beneficial to the negotiations between North Korea and the U.S., which have come to a deadlock.”

The 89 South Koreans who were allowed to meet their long-lost family members from the North in the first round of the 21st set of reunions returned home after seeing their loved ones for the last time on Aug. 22. The second round of the set of reunions will be held from Aug. 24 to 26, wherein 83 North Koreans will meet family members from the South, also at the Mount Kumgang resort in North Korea.