SKorea calls for reunions of separated families

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye. AFP FILE PHOTO

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea’s president has called for resuming reunions of families separated by the Korean War in the early 1950s.

The call comes amid tensions on the Korean Peninsula following Pyongyang’s fiery rhetoric and threats of nuclear wars last spring. The two Koreas had planned to hold family reunions in September for the first time in three years but Pyongyang cancelled them at the last minute.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye told a televised news conference Monday that she wants the reunions to occur on the occasion of the Lunar New Year’s Day later this month to “heal their wounded hearts.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week called for improving ties in his New Year’s Day speech.

Park says North Korea should act with sincerity.