Koreans gather ahead of longed-for reunion

North Korean-born Kim Se-Rim (L) leaves his house in Seoul as he prepares to make his way to a reunion of families from North and South Korea separated by the war, on February 19, 2014.

SEOUL: A group of 83 mostly elderly South Koreans accompanied by family converged Wednesday on a coastal resort prior to crossing into North Korea for the first reunion in more than three years for the peninsula's divided families.

Having had their hopes shattered when Pyongyang cancelled a previous reunion last September, many had been wary of the agreement to hold a gathering from Thursday at a mountain retreat in North Korea.