A South Korean-Australian citizen visited North Korea in October and reunited with his separated family, marking the first private reunion of this kind since 2019, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Unification.
Data from the Ministry’s October report on separated family exchanges revealed that one private reunion took place.
On December 10, the Ministry confirmed that dual citizen of South Korea and Australia in his 80s traveled to North Korea in October and met with two of his nephews. After returning from his visit, the man reported the reunion to the Ministry of Unification, as required by law.
Under South Korea’s Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act and its enforcement decree, South Korean citizens must obtain prior approval from the Minister of Unification to visit North Korea. However, for those with long-term residency status abroad or those employed by foreign-based companies, it is sufficient to file a post-visit report within ten days of their return.
The last known private reunion of separated families was in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted travel and inter-Korean exchanges. Official reunions, facilitated by authorities from both Koreas, last took place in 2018.
A Ministry official acknowledged that reunions of this nature are rare, particularly those involving visits to North Korea. However, the official cautioned against interpreting the visit as a shift in North Korean policy.
Private reunions of separated families typically occur in third countries, such as China, rather than North Korea, according to groups that support separated families. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that most reunions of this nature since the 2010s have been held in third countries, with the last known reunion in North Korea taking place in 2016.
The Ministry of Unification’s records show that private reunions of separated families began in 1990, peaking at 283 cases in 2003. The number of reunions has since declined, with no reported reunions from 2019 until this year’s case.
Meanwhile, official inter-Korean efforts for family reunions, including requests for status verification and in-person meetings, have remained suspended since 2018.
While some families have sought to confirm the survival of their relatives or exchange letters, even these interactions have been infrequent. According to the Ministry, from 2020 to 2023, only a small number of private status confirmations and letter exchanges took place, and no such exchanges have been recorded in 2024.
BY YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]
