North and South Korean families were forced to say a final, traumatic farewell today after meeting for the first time in more than 60 years, as the joy of temporary reunion gave way to the pain of permanent separation.
On the third and last day of their all-too brief, emotionally charged reunion in a North Korean mountain resort, the families were given two hours in the morning to say their last goodbyes.
It was perhaps the most fraught part of the entire event, with relatives on both sides -- especially those in their 70s, 80s or even 90s -- all too aware that this was likely the last time they would ever see each other.
"Be healthy. Live long," 85-year-old Lee Soon-Kyu told the North Korean husband she had met for the first time since they were separated at the outbreak of 1950-53 Korean War when she was just 19 years old.
"Let's meet again in the next life," he replied.
Some spent their last minutes together simply clinging to each other, while others sought to put on a brave face, holding hands and wiping away tears as they sat at numbered tables in the resort's main banquet area.
"My eyes are all puffy because I cried so much last night," said Ri Hong-Jong, 88, as he said goodbye to his South Korean daughter.
"Even this morning... The tears just keep coming," he said.
TV footage from the resort showed one elderly North Korean woman trying to keep the mood on her table upbeat, challenging everyone to an arm wrestle to show off her physical health.
But then the North Koreans boarded buses to take them home, prompting desperate final scenes as they pressed their hands and faces to the windows, trying to maintain eye contact with their weeping South Korean relatives outside as the vehicles moved away.
It was only the second reunion to be held in the past five years, and interaction was tightly controlled -- limited to six, two-hour sessions, including meetings in a communal hall and private one-on-one time without TV cameras.
For the nearly 400 South Koreans and their 140 relatives taking part, the 12 hours of total face time was heartbreakingly short after more than six decades of separation caused by the 1950-53 Korean War.
"It would have been wonderful if we could have talked and slept in the same room, instead of just meeting on and off," said 70-year-old Han Sun-Kyu who was meeting his North Korean aunt.
