A Korean mother and son were reunited after more than six decades apart

A Korean mother and son were reunited after 68 years apart. The pair were separated during the chaos of the Korean War in 1953.About 20,000 people living in North and South Korea have participated in 20 rounds of reunions since 1985.This series of reunions comes after the historic meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in that took place earlier this year.A 92-year-old Korean woman held her 71-year-old son's hand on Monday for the first time since he was four.Ri Sang-chol, who is North Korean, and his mother, Lee Geum-seom, who has been in South Korea since the Korean War ended in 1953, were finally reunited. At the end of the war,Lee and her daughter made it into South Korea, while Ri and his father were stuck in North Korea.'How many children do you have' Do you have a son'' Lee Keum-seom asked her son during their emotional reunion, according to the Associated Press. "Mother, this is how my father looked," Ri said as he handed his mother a photo of her late husband. This mother and son, along with 88 other elderly South Koreans were allowed to cross the border for a brief reunion with family members in the North. It was the first reunion North Korean allowed in nearly three years. These reunions only last a few days and are likely the last time these family members will ever see each other, according to the Associated Press. About 20,000 people have participated in 20 rounds of reunions since 1985, when the first such gatherings were organized. Those who have participated aren't given a second chance, according to the New York Times. People are chosen to participate through a lottery system, but in the past, some South Koreans have died or become too ill to travel before the reunions, according to the Associated Press.Many struggle to immediately recognize their relatives who they last saw as children, teenagers or young people, according to the Associated Press. "He won't recognize me because he was only 4. We would only know each other by our names,' Lee said in an interview released by South Korea's Blue House prior to meeting her son.Lee said she cried everyday after she was separated from her family, but today was able to fulfill her wish of "hugging her grown-up son."This gathering is a result of the historic meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in that took place earlier this year. South Korean President Moon said on Twitter that he would work to resolve the issue of separated families. 8' 20' ''' '', '' ''''' ''''' '' ' ''' '' ''''''. '' '' '', '''' '''', '''''''. ''' '' '''' ''' ''' '''' ''' '''''. '''' ''' '' ''''' '''' ''''' ''''' ''' ' ''''.' ''' (@moonriver365) August 20, 2018'Regular reunions, death checks, video reunions, correspondence exchanges, hometown visits and family reunion shelters should always be run,' he wrote. For more great stories, head to INSIDER's homepage.Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: How Columbia House sold 12 CDS for $1
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