South Korea has repeated its request to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for holding a reunion of separated families from both sides, reconfirming its willingness to deal with the humanitarian issue separately from other issues such as resuming the tour to the Mount Kumgang resort.

Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Eui-do told a routine press briefing here on Friday that South Korea's proposal to hold the family reunion around the Lunar New Year's Day was made after considering the old age of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, noting that the reunion would have cured pains of the elderly and would have become a first step to improve inter-Korean ties.

Kim said that if the DPRK really wants to enhance inter-Korean relations, the country should convert its words into real action, urging Pyongyang once again to respond to Seoul's proposal.

In her first New Year's press conference on Monday, South Korean President Park Geun-hye proposed to resume the family reunion around the Lunar New Year's Day that fell on late January, pledging to open a new era for the reunification of the Korean Peninsula.

The DPRK's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea on Thursday sent a notice of rejection, saying that if the humanitarian project is to go on successfully, obstacles should be removed and atmosphere should be created.

The committee pointed out that the family reunion could not be held under an environment in which war drills continue on the South side and the massive joint military exercises happen, noting that issues proposed by the DPRK, believed to be the resumption of the tour to the DPRK's scenic resort Mount Kumgang, should be tackled together.

South Korean Defense Ministry's deputy spokesman Wi Yong-seop told reporters at a regular press briefing that Key Resolve and Foal Eagle military exercises between Seoul and Washington scheduled for March to April are a regular and annually planned joint drill of a defense nature, noting that those are aimed at improving command and combat capabilities of the joint forces in preparations for the possible all-out war on the Korean Peninsula. Endi

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