Koreas drift further apart

Reunions between Korea's divided families have been few and far between

By CNN Seoul Bureau Chief Sohn Jie-Ae

SEOUL, South Korea -- Liberation Day was very different for both South and North Korea a year ago.

Two hundred families were getting to meet relatives they hadn't seen in over 50 years. Tears of emotions flowed on both sides of the Korean peninsula as mothers hugged sons, and fathers cried at the sight of their now aged daughters.

Oh Hyung-jae remembers meeting his brother, who came as one of the 100 North Koreans who came South. Since then Oh has received one hand-delivered letter from his brother, and has little hope of ever seeing him again.

All he has are memories and photographs of that happy day that he can pull up on his computer screen.

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"All the divided families are longing for a more permanent reunion and setting up a regular meeting place," he says.

Not only has there been no progress in the divided family sector, inter-Korean relations has been at a virtual standstill since March.

The North has blamed the new administration in the United States, saying there would be no progress in inter-Korean relations until Washington shows it is willing to improve relations.

South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung is also urging the United States and North Korea to move forward.

Jump start

"Relations between South and North Korea are inextricably linked to relations between North Korea and the United States. I would urge Washington to make the greatest effort towards resuming dialogue with the North," President Kim said in a Liberation Day address.

But some analysts say it will take more than just improved relations between Washington and Pyongyang to jump start inter-Korean relations.

They say, faced with an economic downturn, and rising criticism from within, South Korea has not been able to live up to the North's expectations for economic aid.

Seoul has provided only a limited amount of direct economic aid, some 600 tons of grain and 200 tons of fertilizer.

And South Korean tours to the North's Keumkang Mountains, which was a major source of foreign currency for the North, has been reduced because of the financial difficulties of the company that operates the tours.

Nevertheless, opposition lawmakers, and other critics have been hounding the Kim Dae-Jung administration for giving too much to the North.

It's a criticism that some analysts say is unfounded.

"A lot of South Koreans media and public opinion has been criticizing the Kim Dae-Jung government for giving too much to North Korea," says Moon Chung-In, a political science professor at Yonsei University and a close advisor to the Kim administration.

"But in reality, he hasn't given anything too much, he has actually given too little which has angered the North Korean government."