海角大神

Hwang Duk-yong knew the words his two younger sisters would utter when he saw them for the first time in 63 years during a reunion of families divided by the Korean War.

鈥淭hey talked about the North Korean regime,鈥� Mr. Hwang told South Korean reporters covering the reunion last weekend. 鈥淭hey said, 鈥楤ecause of the generosity of the Workers鈥� Party,鈥� we are here.鈥�

All of the North Koreans who have come to two sets of family reunions over the past few days have opened their conversations with their South Korean relatives with the same words. Clearly, the North Koreans were fully briefed in advance on what to say, according to South Korean officials responsible for arranging the event from their side.

Only after getting past these opening remarks can long-lost relatives talk about their lives. They know that their few hours together will be their last, and they鈥檙e eager for any gossip and news they can get, even if the account is worded to put the best face on life in聽North Korea.

鈥淣ow I have to boast about my four sons,鈥� said the older of聽Hwang鈥檚 two sisters at their meeting at the base of Mount Kumgang, North Korea, just over the North-South border.聽 鈥淢y first and second sons were able to go through 12 years of free education due to the generosity of the Workers鈥� Party. Then they joined the army, and now they are working. Since they were educated, they have good jobs.鈥�

Her remarks, as Hwang related the conversation, ended on a typical North Korean propaganda theme. 鈥淏efore we came here we stayed at a hotel for three days. This is due to the generosity of the party. Our wish is to reunify as soon as possible.鈥�

Hwang鈥檚 account of the meetings showed the聽skill with which聽North Korea聽is attempting to turn the reunions to its negotiating advantage. The regime had threatened to cancel them because the US聽and聽South Korea聽were holding annual military exercises.聽

Although the North Koreans praised their rulers in 18 previous reunions, South Korean officials say the ritual was wordier and more repetitive this time. North Korean authorities may have convinced themselves, it seems, that their elderly visitors would pass on both their relatives' personal tales and the propaganda points that they recited at every meeting.聽

As the second set of reunions in four days continued Monday, South Korean and American troops began military exercises that will last until mid-April. The war games consist of two stages: Key Resolve, a two-week, computer-based exercise for 5,200 US and 10,000 South Korean soldiers; and Foal Eagle, which begins in the second week of March, and will involve 7,500 Americans and more than 100,000 South Koreans in exercises ranging from simulated assaults to logistical, medical, and rescue operations.聽

It's unclear whether North Korea would agree to holding more reunions during the war games. To date, only about 18,000 people, among millions separated from relatives during the Korean War, have participated since the first such reunion held in 2000. The latest are the first since October 2010.聽

Officials at聽South Korea鈥檚 unification ministry聽who are responsible for arranging the reunions are cautiously optimistic. When asked if meetings now might be possible on a monthly basis, a ministry official responded, 鈥淲e hope so.鈥�

'We have all this at home'

The numbers who get to go are relatively small. Eighty-two South Koreans went to聽Mount聽Kumgang on Thursday聽for three days of reunions with more than 100 North Koreans. On Sunday, 88 North Koreans went to聽Mount聽Kumgang, where they met more than 350 South Koreans, many of them younger family members and guardians of the relatives found in the South.聽

The South Koreans who went聽on Thursday聽were selected via a lottery run by the South Korean Red Cross. The North Koreans who arrived聽on Sunday聽were ostensibly selected by the North Korean Red Cross, though South Korean officials suspected that many were chosen as rewards for years of loyal service to the regime.

鈥淲e are grateful about this family reunion,鈥� said Hwang, but he seemed a little frustrated when his younger sister not only thanked the party but also praised聽North Korea鈥檚 young leader, Kim Jong-un, for his 鈥渁chievement.鈥�

In fact, according to South Korean pool reports, some South Korean family members grew increasingly annoyed by the ritual praise. 鈥淲e鈥檙e sick and tired of hearing that,鈥� one pool report quoted聽a South Korean as saying. 鈥淭hree days is enough. We have been hearing them repeat the same thing all the time.鈥�

Some of the North Koreans surprised their relatives from the South by spurning the gifts that they had been carrying for them in identical small grey suitcases. 鈥淲e have all of this at home,鈥� several North Koreans were quoted as saying, turning down presents of clothes and food. 鈥淲hy do you bring it?鈥澛�

One of the South Koreans reportedly responded, 鈥淲e鈥檒l be glad to take it back.鈥�