SEOUL: South Korea will seek discussions on resuming reunions of separated families at this week’s inter-Korean talks, Seoul’s top delegate said Monday, as the North trumpeted the importance of achieving reunification.
The two Koreas agreed last week to hold their first official dialogue in more than two years and will meet Tuesday at the border truce village of Panmunjom.
The talks will largely focus on the North’s participation in next month’s Winter Olympics in the South, but the two sides are also expected to bring up their own issues of interest.
“We will prepare for discussions on the issue of separated families and ways to ease military tensions,” Unification Minister Cho Myoung-Gyon told reporters, according to the Yonhap news agency.
Because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a formal peace treaty, the two Koreas remain technically at war.
Tensions soared last year as the North made rapid progress on its banned weapons programs, launching ballistic missiles it said are capable of reaching the US and carrying out its sixth nuclear test, by far its most powerful.
Their tentative rapprochement comes after North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un warned in his New Year speech that he had a nuclear button on his desk — but also said Pyongyang could send a team to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Seoul responded with an offer of talks, and last week the hotline between the neighbors was restored after being suspended for almost two years.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said the North’s participation in Pyeongchang would strengthen the Games’ profile as “a peace Olympics,” Yonhap reported, and could lead to further progress.
Later Monday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it had “extended the deadline” for North Korea’s participation in the Winter Olympics.
On Saturday, North Korea Olympic body member Chang Ung said the isolated state was “likely to participate” in the Games from Feb. 9-25, Kyodo news agency reported.
Talks between the two Koreas hosted by IOC President Thomas Bach will take place at the Olympic movement’s Swiss headquarters on Tuesday.
North Korea’s state media has stopped condemning the South and instead called for “independent reunification” without relying on other countries such as the US.
“The master of improved inter-Korean relations is not the outsiders but the Korean nation itself,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said at the weekend.
“The flunkeyism and idea of dependence on outside forces are the venom which makes the nation slavish and spiritless,” it added.
Seoul seeks to put family reunions on North Korea talks agenda
Seoul seeks to put family reunions on North Korea talks agenda
Philippines seeks to regain Chinese visitors as arrivals lag behind regional rivals
- 262,000 Chinese tourists visited Philippines in 2025, compared to 1.7m in 2019
- Vietnam is top destination for Chinese travelers, with about 4.8m visitors this year
MANILLA: The Philippines is trailing behind other countries in Southeast Asia in winning back Chinese tourists, with arrivals well below a quarter of pre-pandemic levels so far this year, latest data showed.
Known for its white sandy beaches, famous diving spots and diverse culture, the Philippines was welcoming an increasing number of Chinese tourists in the period before the pandemic, with the number peaking at over 1.7 million in 2019, when it was the second-largest source market after South Korea.
But the post-pandemic rebound has been slow, with China ranking sixth among international arrivals and the number of Chinese visitors reaching only 262,000 as of Dec. 20, according to data from the Philippine Department of Tourism.
“China remains one of the country’s largest and most important source markets,” the tourism department said earlier this week.
Chinese arrivals this year are equivalent to only around 15 percent of the numbers in 2019 and there is stiff competition with regional rivals like Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia each welcoming at least 1 million tourists from China in 2025.
Vietnam has become Chinese travelers’ top travel destination in Southeast Asia with around 4.8 million visitors so far this year, followed by Thailand, which has recorded about 4.36 million.
China is Singapore’s top source market, with nearly 3 million visitors as of November.
To attract more visitors from China, the Philippines reintroduced electronic visas for Chinese travelers in November, after suspending the system for two years.
“The eVisa resumption is a critical step forward and a clear signal that the Philippines is open, ready, and eager to welcome our Chinese friends,” said Ireneo Reyes, the tourism attache to China.
“While the timing meant that its full benefits could not be felt within the peak booking periods of 2025, we expect a more visible impact beginning the first quarter of 2026.”
The Philippine tourism department said that “recovery has also been constrained by reduced flight capacity, with China-Philippines routes operating at only about 45 percent of pre-pandemic levels,” adding that officials were working closely with relevant stakeholders to “rebuild connectivity and confidence.”
Tourism is an important sector in the Philippine economy, according to a report by the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office, accounting for about 13.2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product last year and making up around 13.8 percent of its labor force.
