Families separated by the Korean War are scheduled to meet in a reunion event on Monday. 89 South Korean participants are now gathered in Sokcho, a seaside town on the South's northeastern coast. They're waiting to travel North to reunite with their loved ones in the DPRK. Some family members living on the northern side of the 38th parallel have already arrived at the DPRK resort where the reunion events will be held. It's the first such meeting for separated families since October 2015. Participants are expected to have some 11 hours of face-to-face time together. Earlier, we spoke to our correspondent Joseph Kim, who is closely following the events in Sokcho.  

LEE SOO-NAM SEPARATED FAMILY REUNION PARTICIPANT "I lost a brother and my parents lost a child, but my brother lost his parents, siblings, friends and an entire hometown, and he probably spent his entire life longing for all of those things. It's heartbreaking just to think about it."

KIM KWANG-HO SEPARATED FAMILY REUNION PARTICIPANT "It is likely the last reunion because I am old. That is why I will be really happy if we are allowed to send letters and hold video conversations. There have been about 20 reunions but they were all one-time events. We are allowed to meet only once and we are not even allowed to send letters."

JOSEPH KIM SOKCHO, SOUTH KOREA "There will be two rounds of family reunions. This is the twentieth time that South Korea and DPRK have held these family reunions. This is because civilian interactions are banned. So it really up to the government to ensure that this continues to go on."