Relatives from family separated by Korean War meet for 1st time in 3rd country

Two relatives from a family separated by the Korean War met in a third country in September, after South Korea’s Unification Ministry helped connect them. The reunion followed a request from a North Korean family member seeking a maternal uncle in the South, who had died decades earlier. It was the first privately arranged reunion reported to the South Korean government in about two years, amid a prolonged halt in inter-Korean exchanges.

A ministry official used its separated-families database to contact the deceased uncle’s adult children and reached a 65-year-old cousin in Gyeonggi Province.

The cousins first communicated through a mobile messaging app before meeting face-to-face; it was not immediately clear how the North Korean relative traveled to the third country.

As of late August, 134,848 South Koreans had registered as having family members separated in the North, and 32,948 were still alive, according to ministry data submitted to Rep. Woo Won-shik.

Privately arranged reunions peaked at 283 cases in 2003, fell to seven in 2010, and were not reported from 2020 through 2023.

The last government-arranged reunions took place at Mount Kumgang in August 2018. The two Koreas technically remain at war because the Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Published Nov 1, 2026 4:46 pm KST

A member of a separated family leaves a message expressing longing for loved ones during a cultural event at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Sept. 27, 2023, marking the first Separated Families Day.

Two relatives from a family separated by the 1950-53 Korean War met for the first time in a third country in September, marking a rare reunion amid frozen inter-Korean relations.

Tensions remain high on the divided Korean Peninsula as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ruled out talks with South Korea and defined inter-Korean ties as those between "two states hostile to each other."

The meeting came five months after South Korea's Unification Ministry received a request from a North Korean member of a separated family seeking help to find a maternal uncle in South Korea. The request was relayed to the ministry by a North Korean defector living in the South.

The ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, located the uncle in its database of separated families, only to learn that he had died 30 years earlier. After trying to contact the uncle's adult children using information in the database, a ministry official made contact with a 65-year-old cousin living in Gyeonggi Province near Seoul.

The South Korean cousin readily agreed to contact the North Korean relative, saying the cousin's late parents had hoped until their final days to meet family members left behind in the North, according to the ministry.

The two first made contact through a mobile messaging app before eventually meeting face-to-face in a third country in September, bringing together two second-generation members of the separated family.

It was not immediately clear how the North Korean relative traveled to the third country.

It marked the first privately arranged family reunion reported to the South Korean government in about two years amid a prolonged halt in inter-Korean exchanges, according to the ministry.

Unlike most privately arranged reunions, in which relatives in South Korea look for family members in the North with the help of brokers, the latest case began with the North Korean relative trying to locate family in the South and culminated in a reunion with help from the South Korean government.

The two countries technically remain at war as the Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. The inter-Korean border is sealed and there is no mail, phone or other direct means of communication between ordinary people of the two Koreas.

South and North Korea have previously held government-arranged temporary reunions for separated families, often around major holidays, such as Chuseok, a major holiday celebrated in both countries.

The Koreas last held such reunions at Mount Kumgang, a scenic resort on the North's east coast, in August 2018, amid a brief thaw in inter-Korean relations. Earlier that year, in February, North Korea sent athletes to compete in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea and dispatched a high-level delegation, including Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong, to the opening ceremony.

The issue of separated families remains a pressing humanitarian concern on the divided peninsula, as about two-thirds of surviving registered family members are 80 or older and many hope to see their long-lost relatives before they die.

In September, President Lee Jae Myung said resolving the issue of families separated by the Korean War should be the first priority for South and North Korea.

"Eight years have passed since the last reunion, and we can no longer afford to delay this," Lee said in a statement marking the fourth Separated Families Day. "Families should be able to reach and see one another, no matter where in the world they live."

As of late August, a total of 134,848 South Koreans had registered as having separated family members in the North, but only 32,948 were still alive, according to ministry data submitted to Rep. Woo Won-shik of the ruling Democratic Party.

Some people have turned to private channels to locate and meet their family members in the North.

Privately arranged reunions peaked in 2003, when 283 cases were reported, before falling to seven in 2010 and to one case each in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

No such reunions were reported from 2020 through 2023 amid severed inter-Korean ties and North Korea's border closure during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The last privately arranged reunion took place in October 2024, when an octogenarian South Korean living overseas visited North Korea to meet a nephew with help from an overseas pro-North Korean organization.

两名因朝鲜战争而失散的亲属于9月在第三国相见，韩国统一部促成了此次团聚。此前，一名朝鲜籍亲属请求与一位已故数十年的舅舅在韩国团聚。这是近两年来，在朝韩交流长期中断的情况下，韩国政府获悉的首例私下安排的团聚。

一名政府官员利用其离异家庭数据库联系了已故叔叔的成年子女，并联系到了京畿道一位 65 岁的表亲。

这对表兄妹先是通过手机通讯软件联系，之后才见面；目前还不清楚这位朝鲜亲戚是如何前往第三国的。

根据提交给众议员禹元植的部门数据，截至 8 月下旬，已有 134,848 名韩国人登记表示其家庭成员在朝鲜分离，其中 32,948 人仍然在世。

2003 年，私下安排的重聚案例达到顶峰，为 283 例；2010 年，下降到 7 例；2020 年至 2023 年，没有相关报道。

上一次由政府安排的朝韩重聚是在2018年8月于金刚山举行。从技术上讲，朝韩两国仍处于战争状态，因为朝鲜战争以停战协定而非和平条约结束。

发布于2026年11月1日下午4:46（韩国标准时间）

2023年9月27日，在首尔光化门广场举行的文化活动中，一位离异家庭成员留下了表达对亲人思念的留言，当天是首个离异家庭日。

1950-53 年朝鲜战争期间，一对家庭被迫分离，两名亲戚于 9 月在第三国首次见面，这在朝韩关系冰封的情况下，标志着一次罕见的团聚。

由于朝鲜领导人金正恩排除了与韩国进行对话的可能性，并将朝韩关系定义为“两个相互敌对的国家”之间的关系，分裂的朝鲜半岛局势依然高度紧张。

此次会晤发生在韩国统一部收到一名朝鲜籍失散家庭成员的求助五个月后。该成员希望在韩国寻找一位舅舅。这份求助是由一名居住在韩国的朝鲜脱北者转达给统一部的。

负责处理韩朝事务的外交部在其离散家庭数据库中找到了这位叔叔的信息，却发现他已于30年前去世。在尝试利用数据库中的信息联系这位叔叔的成年子女后，一位外交部官员联系到了一位居住在首尔附近京畿道的65岁堂兄。

据韩国外交部称，这位韩国表亲欣然同意与朝鲜亲戚联系，并表示表亲已故的父母直到生命的最后时刻都希望能够见到留在朝鲜的家人。

两人最初通过手机通讯应用取得联系，最终于 9 月在第三国见面，使这个分离家庭的两名第二代成员得以团聚。

目前尚不清楚这位朝鲜亲属是如何前往第三国的。

据韩国外交部称，这是近两年来，在朝韩交流长期中断的情况下，首次向韩国政府报告的私人安排的家庭团聚。

与大多数私人安排的团聚不同，在大多数团聚中，韩国的亲属在中间人的帮助下在朝鲜寻找家人，而最新的这个案例始于朝鲜的亲属试图在韩国寻找家人，最终在韩国政府的帮助下实现了团聚。

由于朝鲜战争以停战协定而非和平条约结束，两国在技术上仍处于战争状态。朝韩边界封闭，两国普通民众之间没有任何邮件、电话或其他直接通讯方式。

韩国和朝鲜此前都曾安排政府组织离散家庭的临时团聚，通常是在重大节日期间，例如中秋节——这是两国都庆祝的重要节日。

上一次朝韩双方举行此类团聚活动是在2018年8月，地点位于朝鲜东海岸风景秀丽的金刚山，当时朝韩关系短暂回暖。同年2月，朝鲜派出运动员参加在韩国举行的平昌冬奥会，并派遣包括金正恩妹妹金与正在内的高级代表团出席开幕式。

在分裂的半岛上，家庭分离问题仍然是一个紧迫的人道主义问题，因为大约三分之二的幸存登记家庭成员年龄在 80 岁或以上，许多人希望在去世前见到他们失散多年的亲人。

9月，李在明总统表示，解决朝鲜战争造成的家庭分离问题应该是韩国和朝鲜的首要任务。

“距离上次团聚已经过去八年了，我们不能再拖延了，”李在纪念第四个离散家庭日的声明中说。“无论身处世界何处，家人都应该能够联系和见面。”

截至 8 月下旬，共有 134,848 名韩国人登记称其家庭成员在朝鲜分离，但据提交给执政党共同民主党议员禹元植的韩国外交部数据显示，其中只有 32,948 人仍然在世。

有些人转而通过私人渠道寻找并会见他们在北方的家人。

私下安排的重聚在 2003 年达到顶峰，当时报告了 283 起案件，之后在 2010 年下降到 7 起，在 2017 年、2018 年和 2019 年各下降到 1 起。

2020 年至 2023 年间，由于朝韩关系破裂以及朝鲜在 COVID-19 疫情期间关闭边境，没有此类团聚的报道。

上一次私下安排的团聚发生在 2024 年 10 月，当时一位居住在海外的八旬韩国老人在海外亲朝鲜组织的帮助下访问朝鲜，与侄子见面。