N. Korea Proposes Temporary Reunions

North Korea has proposed a temporary reunion of families separated by the war 60 years ago. This type of reunion has happened before, but typically the South proposes it. Since the first reunion summit in 2000, about 20,000 Koreans have been temporarily reunited. Observers hope it’s a sign that tensions between the two countries are easing, and that the six-nation talks about North Korea’s nuclear program can resume. Currently, South Korea refuses to resume the talks as well as aid shipments to the North until the North apologizes for the sinking of a South Korean warship, which the North denies having anything to do with. In the past, North Korea has used the reunions as a bargaining chip to get economic concessions from the South, but it’s unclear whether this proposal is enough to get South Korea to change its stance on the sunken warship. Both China and the United States want the Koreas to resume talks.