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GIMPO, South Korea -- Prisoners of warfare held for decades aft the warring stopped. Civilian abductees. Defectors. Separated families.
They are Koreans who symbolize the decades of part and bitter animosities betwixt North and South Korea, which person been divided by a heavy fortified border since the the 1950-53 Korean War.
North and South Koreans aren’t allowed to speech visits, telephone calls oregon letters with their loved ones connected the different side.
Wednesday is the 75th day of the war's beginning. The Associated Press spoke with Koreans whose symptom and sorrow apt won't beryllium healed anytime soon arsenic diplomacy betwixt the Koreas remains dormant.
Lee Seon-wu, who was a South Korean soldier, mislaid 3 fingers and was captured by Chinese troops during a fierce conflict successful the eastbound Gangwon state successful the last days of the war. Like tens of thousands of different South Korean prisoners, Lee was held by North Korea adjacent aft an armistice ended the fighting. He was forced to resettle arsenic a miner successful the country's distant northeast.
In North Korea, Lee said helium belonged to the lowest societal people and joined a mediocre woman. He besides lived nether changeless authorities surveillance.
In 2006, helium fled to South Korea via China, lone to larn that his parents and 2 of his 3 siblings had already died. Lee said helium was shunned by his nephew, who apt disquieted Lee would request the instrumentality of onshore that was primitively bought with compensation wealth that authorities gave to his household aft they wrongly concluded that Lee had died successful the war.
Now 94, helium doesn’t enactment successful interaction with immoderate relatives successful South Korea and misses household members successful North Korea.
Lee said his 3 daughters successful North Korea rejected his connection to fly to South Korea due to the fact that they feared punishment if caught. Lee said helium besides has a grandson whose parents — Lee’s lad and daughter-in-law — died successful an accident.
“I'm blessed due to the fact that I've returned to my homeland but I shed tears erstwhile I deliberation astir them successful North Korea,” Lee said during an interrogation astatine his location successful Gimpo, a metropolis adjacent Seoul.
A full of 80 South Korean POWs person fled to South Korea since 1994, but lone 7 of them including Lee are inactive alive. In 2016, the South Korean authorities estimated astir 500 South Korean POWs were inactive live successful North Korea.
Son Myong Hwa, 63, is the North Korea-born girl of a South Korean POW held successful the North. She said her begetter sang and played the harmonica good but often drank unsocial astatine location and wept.
Son's father, who besides worked arsenic a miner successful North Korea, died of lung crab successful 1984. Son said helium near a volition asking her to determination his ashes to his South Korean hometown erstwhile the Koreas are unified.
Son escaped to South Korea successful 2005 and brought her father's remains to South Korea with the assistance of her member and sister successful North Korea successful 2013. Her father’s remains were yet buried astatine the nationalist cemetery. But Son said her request for the authorities to springiness her father's compensation to her has gone unanswered due to the fact that South Korean instrumentality lone grants fiscal assistance to returning POWs, not their bereaved families.
Son has been warring ineligible battles to get what she thinks she deserves. She said she can't backmost down present due to the fact that she has mislaid excessively galore things. She said she learned that her member and sister progressive successful the smuggling of their father's remains were aboriginal arrested by North Korean authorities and sent to a situation camp. The occupation has near Son estranged from her 2 different sisters who besides resettled successful South Korea.
“Why americium I struggling similar this? I harbor sick feeling against South Korean governments due to the fact that I deliberation they've abandoned POWs near successful North Korea,” Son said. “I deliberation deceased POWs besides person honors to beryllium respected truthful their compensation indispensable beryllium provided posthumously.”
In 1967, erstwhile Choi Sung-Yong was 15, his begetter was abducted by North Korean agents, whose equipped vessels encircled his sportfishing vessel adjacent the Koreas’ disputed occidental oversea boundary.
Choi said that South Korean officials and a North Korean defector told him that his begetter was executed successful the aboriginal 1970s aft North Korean interrogators uncovered his wartime work for a U.S. quality subject unit.
Choi said his household inactive doesn't clasp an yearly accepted memorial work for his begetter due to the fact that they don’t cognize precisely erstwhile helium died. He said earlier his parent died successful 2005, she asked him to bring his father's remains and hide them alongside hers successful the future.
Now, arsenic caput of a civic radical representing families of radical kidnapped by North Korea, Choi flies balloons crossed the borderline to driblet leaflets demanding that North Korea corroborate the fates of his begetter and others.
“I privation to perceive straight from North Korea astir my father,” Choi said.
The South Korean authorities estimates much than 500 South Korean kidnap victims, mostly fishermen, are inactive held successful North Korea.
Choi faces constabulary investigations aft the caller wide South Korean authorities cracked down connected civilian leafleting campaigns to easiness tensions with North Korea.
Choi said Tuesday that elder South Korean officials told him they would strive to resoluteness the abduction contented arsenic they asked him to halt balloon activities that North Korea views arsenic a large provocation.
“Our governments person failed to fulfill their duties to find the destiny of my father. So I’ve sent leaflets. But wherefore bash South Korean authorities effort to punish me?” Choi said. “Criminals are successful North Korea.”
When Kang Min-do’s household gathered for large accepted holidays, helium said his North Korea-born begetter often wept softly erstwhile helium honored the 2 different children helium mislaid during the chaos of the Korean War.
Kang, who was calved to a pistillate his begetter remarried successful South Korea, said his begetter told him bombings, apt from U.S. warplanes, scattered his household determination adjacent Pyongyang successful January 1951 arsenic they were fleeing to South Korea.
“My begetter said helium tried to hunt for them aft the bombing ended, but bodies were piled truthful precocious and helium conscionable couldn’t find anyone,” Kang, 67, said.
Before helium died successful 1992, Kang’s begetter hoped that his lad would find his half-siblings 1 time to archer them however overmuch their begetter missed them. In a video connection posted connected a South Korean authorities website, Kang expressed hopes of visiting his father’s sedate with his half-brother and half-sister erstwhile the Koreas are unified.
“I request to archer them however overmuch our begetter struggled aft coming to the South and however profoundly helium missed his older lad and daughter," Kang said.
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