Korean Reunions: South Korean families reunite with relatives in DPRK

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The reunions come amid the ongoing thaw in inter-Korean relations emerging from the Pyeongchang Olympics and recent leaders' summits. The two sides have held rounds of family reunions before, but as Joseph Kim reports, many of the rapidly aging participants don't have the luxury to wait much longer.

It's a red carpet welcome. Applause and cheer for the selected few who will travel across the divided Korea Monday to meet the family they were separated with almost 70 years ago. It's been a lifetime of waiting. And for most, a lifetime of regret.

Lee Chun-ae says she thinks about her brother every day, and remembers the black uniform he used to wear. Lee was 23 when she was separated from her family during the Korean War, coming to the South alone. Now at 91, she'll go back North to meet her brother's daughter.

LEE CHUN-AE FAMILY REUNION PARTICIPANT "I left my brother and mother in the North. It's been a nail in my heart. Even though my mother raised me so preciously, I couldn't do anything for her."

Lee regrets not being able to fulfill her filial piety. This is why she says she brought her niece presents, from new outfits to medicine. 91-year-old Lee Geun-sum says she also brought clothes as gifts. She'll be reunited with her son who was 4 years old when the conflict broke out and she says she wondered how his life has been.

LEE GEUM-SUM FAMILY REUNION PARTICIPANT "I got him a goose down jacket because they don't have it up there. It's cold there so I also bought him socks and things to keep him warm."

Lee says this will be her final goodbye. Both she and Lee Chun-ae, as well as the others participating in the reunion, are elderly. And more than half of the South Koreans registered for the reunions have passed away.

JOSEPH KIM SOKCHO, SOUTH KOREA "The United Nations calls separated families one of the most pressing humanitarian issues facing the Korean Peninsula. Because time is running out. Only 57,000 South Koreans remain alive and of them, over 60% are over the age of 80."

For the next several days, Lee Geun-sum and Lee Chun-ae as well as the estimated 200 others, will have to make up the 70 years they lost. According to the Unification Ministry, they'll have approximately 11 hours to do so. This short time limit and not being able to keep in touch after the reunions is why so many also call the reunions, the second separation. Joseph Kim, for CGTN, Sokcho, South Korea.