South Korean Cheong Ki-Ok said, "We didn't know whether he was alive or dead until now. I put in a request to the Red Cross about 10 years ago, but didn't hear from them, so we thought he had passed away. But we got a call last year, and my sisters were all astonished!"

The reunions began Saturday when 430 South Koreans were allowed across the border to meet their relatives from the DPRK.

The event is the first in a two-part series of reunions.About 100 south Koreans will meet 200 relatives living in the DPRK at the same place on Wednesday. Both reunions will last for three days.

The DPRK initiated the reunions, and the South Korean Red Cross catered the banquet.

Since a landmark inter-Korean summit in 2000, more than 20-thousand family members have had brief reunions, either during face-to-face meetings or by video.