Warning that breaks hearts

An elderly South Korean man wiping his tears as a North Korean relative (in the bus) waves to say good-bye after a luncheon during a family reunion on the North's southeastern coast on October 31, 2010. Photo: AFP

North Korea yesterday threatened to renege on an agreement to hold a reunion for families divided by the Korean War unless South Korea scraps planned military drills with the United States.
The threat came barely a day after the two sides set dates for the reunion. It drew a sharp rebuke from Seoul, which warned Pyongyang against dashing the hopes of separated family members in the North and South.
In a statement broadcast on state television, the North's top military body, the National Defence Commission (NDC), said it was "outrageous" for South Korea to push ahead with the joint military exercises when cross-border efforts were being made for reconciliation.
"Dialogue and exercises of war of aggression... cannot go hand in hand," the NDC said.
The annual South-US joint drills are scheduled to begin late February, despite the North's repeated demands for their cancellation.
The dates agreed Wednesday for the family reunions were February 20-25, which would likely see them overlap with the start of the military exercises.
It would be the first reunion event in more than three years, and the accord was hailed as a possible harbinger of warmer ties between the arch rivals.