A/HRC/16/58 12. Recent months have also seen unprecedented tension in the region. In November 2010, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea fired artillery on Yeonpyeong Island in the Republic of Korea, which resulted in the death of two civilians and two Republic of Korea military staff members. The Special Rapporteur recognizes the gravity of the military actions, which escalated tensions between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and expressed his sympathy to the victims and called for restraint and to adopt measures that would ease the tension. These developments underscore the importance and need for resumption of multilateral meetings involving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The Special Rapporteur wishes to reiterate that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea should not find itself in isolation at a juncture when it needs the support and cooperation of the international community the most, both to address the human rights situation and to meet humanitarian needs. 13. The Yeonpyeong shelling has also resulted in negative repercussions on the provision by the Republic of Korea of humanitarian aid to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and issues such as the family reunion. The Special Rapporteur will deal with these concerns later in this report. 14. The International Criminal Court began to examine whether the sinking of Cheonan, a Republic of Korea warship hit by a torpedo allegedly fired from a Democratic People’s Republic of Korea submarine on 26 March 2010, resulting in the death of 46 persons, and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island on the 23 November 2010, resulting in the killing of 2 civilians and injuring many others, would constitute war crimes under the jurisdiction of the court. The Court’s consideration of the two incidents opens questions of accountability for other alleged crimes committed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, including the issue of abduction, which the Special Rapporteur has discussed later in this report. A. Separated families and family reunion 15. The facilitation of the family reunion of separated families on 30 October 2010 through an inter-Korean temporary family reunion process was a welcome development. The families concerned had been separated for six decades. The reunion was the eighteenth cross-border family reunion event since the two countries held their historic first summit in 2000. Each cross-border family reunion brings together some 100 families from each side, which is meagre when compared with the number of persons affected by separation of families. Although the family reunification is temporary in nature, with members of the families having to return back to the country from which they came after their brief meeting, it provides some respite to families who have not seen their loved ones for decades. The Special Rapporteur reiterates that there is an urgent need for more frequent and regular family reunions. He stresses the urgency of such measures given that separated members are now either very old or dead. Since the 1950–1953 Korean War around 128,000 Koreans from the Republic of Korea requested to meet their family members in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, out of which an estimated 40,000 are now dead, leaving another 83,000 or so on the waiting list for reunions. For those who have managed to meet their family members in one of the cross-border family reunion so far, it may have been the last time that they will have such a chance, as priority will be now be given to those remaining who have not had their turn for reunification. 16. On several occasions in the past, prior to the family reunion, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has demanded that the Republic of Korea donate hundreds of thousands of tons of rice and fertilizer as a prerequisite for family reunions to resume on a regular basis. The Special Rapporteur strongly urges that such demands should not be imposed a prerequisite for family reunions. 5