The Ministry of Unification on the morning of Sept. 8 officially proposed to North Korea bilateral talks on the issue of separated families. Shown is Minister of Unification Kwon Youngse. (Ministry's official Facebook account)

By Park Hye Ri

Ahead of the Chuseok holiday, the government has officially proposed to North Korea bilateral talks on the issue of separated families.

In a media briefing on the morning of Sept. 8 at Government Complex-Seoul, Minister of Unification Kwon Youngse said, "(Today), the ROK Government publicly proposes to hold talks with the North to discuss the issue of separated families."

"Holding a one-off reunion with a small number of people as in the past is not enough," he added. "We need to use all possible means immediately to come up with quick and fundamental measures."

"The Government hopes that responsible officials of the two sides will meet in person as soon as possible for a candid discussion on humanitarian matters including the issue of separated families."

Minister Kwon said, "The Government is ready to make every effort to alleviate the pain of division any time, anywhere, in any way possible," adding, "We will approach this dialogue with an open mind, and make sure to take into account the preferences of the North including the date, venue, agenda and format of the talks in a positive manner."

With the first coming in August 2000, 21 reunions of separated families on both sides of the Korean Peninsula were held through August 2018.

As inter-Korean relations reached a stalemate in February 2019 after the collapse of the North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, no reunion has been held since.

The ministry said that as of late last month, 43,746 people who applied for the government to search for their separated relatives remained alive.

hrhr@korea.kr