Bittersweet Reunions for North and South Korean Families Separated by War
SEOUL — After 67 years, Lee Soo-nam didn’t think he’d ever see his older brother again.
His brother was conscripted into the North Korean Army in August 1950, Lee told NBC News.
“They took him away just like that,” he said. “I had given up on seeing him because so much time has passed, and even if he survived the war, I thought he’d likely died of natural causes by now.”
Despair turned to hope for Lee when he received a call from the Red Cross earlier this year saying that his older brother was still alive, and that he would be allowed to meet with him.
“At first I cried, wondering: Is this for real? Am I dreaming? I needed to see him with my own eyes to believe it,” he said.
