A Team From South Korea Crosses The North Today To Do Final Preparations For The Much-Awaited Family Reunion In Mt. Kumgang

by Czarelli Tuason / Oct 15, 2015 04:04 AM EDT

February 2014 reunion of Korean families at Mt. Kumgang | By: Pool | Getty Images

Officials from South Korea sent a team into North Korea today to facilitate final preparations for next week's much-awaited reunion of families long separated by the Korean War, reported Channel News Asia today.

The reunion, set to take place on Oct. 20 to 26 at the Mt. Kumgang resort in Kangwon-do, North Korea, would be the second family reunion in five years.

According to USA Today on Sept. 8, Korean reunions were originally agreed upon to be an annual event, but poor relations between the North and South often led to cancellations, which some fear might still be possible with this year's reunion.

Seoul's Unification Ministry confirmed 14 Red Cross Officials and 11 maintenance workers were part of the advanced team tasked to put finishing touches for next week's big event.

"Some of them will stay in the venue until the beginning of the reunion to coordinate logistical matters for the event and other details," said a ministry spokeswoman.

Mount Kumgang resort was developed by South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Group and once hosted thousands of South Korean tourists permitted to visit under then President Kim Dae Jung's "Sunshine Policy" in the late 90s.

The tours were put into a halt following a shooting incident by a North Korean soldier that killed a South Korean tourist who wandered into a military area.

Tens of thousands of South Korean applicants hoped to be selected to take part in the annual reunions, but unfortunately, only a tiny percentage of them were selected. Nearly a hundred thousand were placed on the waiting list, with most of them in their 70s to 90s.

Next week's reunion will be attended by less than 100 separated family members from South and North Korea, wherein two of the oldest attendees are 98-year-old South Korean men, who each have a son and daughter from the North. Unfortunately, around 129,700 South Korean applicants have already died without seeing their long-lost relatives.