By Seo Soo-min
Staff Reporter

SEOUL?orth Korea proposed that the two Koreas open a reunion place for separated family members on Aug. l5 at the just-ended Red Cross talks, South Korea? head delegate said.

"The North Korean Red Cross delegates said that they were willing to open a venue for family reunions at Mt. Kumgang on Aug. l5," Lee Byung-woong said upon his return to Seoul from the third inter-Korean Red Cross talks.

The date marks Korea? liberation from Japan in l945 and is celebrated both in South and North Korea.

The permanent meeting point issue had stalled the talks, with the North insisting on Mt. Kumgang as the only possible choice. South Korea opted for the truce village of Panmunjom.

"However, both sides reached a consensus on installing a permanent meeting place along the Seoul-Shinuiju line," he said, brushing aside speculations that the meeting was fruitless.

The reconnection of the severed railroad connecting South and North Korea is scheduled to be completed by September.