Ji-won, the last reunion was 3 years ago,...are there many differences or changes compared to the previous one held in 2015?
Yes Mark. Firstly, the total time they spend together has been shortened by an hour, from 12 hours three years ago.
But if you look closely, an extra hour has been added for the families to spend time on their own,... with one more hour given for them to have lunch in their rooms, after a two hour private reunion.
And a South Korean Unification Ministry official said the logistics and general program have been much simplified to better suit the elderly participants.
For instance, everyone passing through the border normally needs to get off the bus for an inspection by the North,... but with many of the South Korean participants needing wheelchairs to move, the North has agreed to simply inspect the elderly participants' documents inside the bus.
That's a nice touch, having elderly relatives we all know how difficult it can be for them to move around too much. Alright well thank you for your reporting, Ji-won.
