Thread by @NoonInKorea

Aging members of families separated by the Korean War having reunions. 81 S Koreans were selected from 57,000 separated members to meet their long-lost relatives living in NK. Among them, 91-year old father and his 75-year old son, separated for 67 years
news.donga.com/List/PoliticsN…

But 81 selected from 57,000 is 1 in 1,000. Why doesn't NK allow more reunions? SK analyst: "Excessive interactions between SK and NK citizens may lead to the demise of its regime." NK lives and dies by isolation. These are controlled reunions anyway
koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20…

Unfortunately these are token separated family members selected and trained by NK to meet their SK counterparts in a highly-controlled setting, Allowing a handful in their golden years with few years remaining to meet SKoreans won't exactly move the needle
koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/201…

Still meaningful for those involved: some dramatic reunion scenes. In a Confucius country where familial ties are everything, these tear-jerker moments have political implications -- Moon devoted 4 ¶s of his Berlin Vision speech to arranging these reunions

Moon: "In both Koreas there're separated families who can no longer visit their hometown due to the division and war."

Translation: "In both Koreas there're separated families because NK cannot survive without enforcing strict isolation and surveillance"
koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20…

91-yr old father and 75-yr old son? Do some math and you'll realize he fathered him at 16. Some are surprised by this. But this was at a time when people married in their teens. Not surprising at all: the father and son end up being in the same age bracket

https://twitter.com/NoonInKorea/status/1031396956474691586

Teenage pregnancy was the norm then and people lived to about 50. That was life in 1945: 11 kids and a can of beans.

But it changed quickly. SK is now a Blue Zone. The oldest member going to NK is a centenarian: not unusual in SK to run into 90-year olds
nature.com/news/life-expe…