South Korea proposes family unions with North Korea in mid-February

South Korea on Monday proposed holding reunions for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War in mid-February as it welcomed North Korea's recent offer to stage the meetings. The South proposed in a message to North Korea earlier in the day that the sides hold a new round of family reunions at Mount Kumgang, a scenic mountain resort on North Korea's east coast, from Feb. 17 to Feb. 22. Seoul's move came three days after North Korea offered to stage family reunions at a "convenient time" for South Korea in the latest of its conciliatory gestures toward its southern neighbor. The South also offered to hold Red Cross talks on Wednesday at the border village of Panmunjom to discuss details of a new round of family reunions. "We hope that North Korea will positively respond to our proposal," said Kim Eui-do, spokesman for the unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean relations. Still, there was no word yet from North Korea about the proposal as of Monday afternoon, according to the ministry. South Korean President Park Geun-hye called the resumption of family reunions a first step toward improving inter-Korean relations as she made the offer in her New Year's press conference. Pyongyang had rejected her proposal, citing, among other things, Seoul's annual joint military exercises with Washington set to run from late February through April. North Korea has repeatedly demanded that South Korea scrap the joint military drills, calling them a rehearsal for nuclear war against it. Seoul and Washington have said the annual drills are defensive in nature. Last year, the North abruptly canceled planned family reunions at the last minute. Millions of Koreans remain separated since the Korean War that ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. Family reunions are a highly emotional issue othe divided Korean Peninsula as most of the separated family members are in their 70s and 80s and want to see their long-lost relatives before they die. The divided Koreas have held more than a dozen rounds of reunions since their landmark summit in 2000, bringing together more than 21,700 family members who had not seen each other since the Korean War. There are no direct means of contact between ordinary civilians of the two countries that remain divided by a heavily fortified border.