A/HRC/31/38 E. Separated families 38. From 20 to 26 October 2015, the Governments of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea organized family reunions, pursuant to their 25 August 2015 agreement. During the reunions, around 90 individuals from the Republic of Korea and 96 individuals from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea met with relatives from the other country. 39. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has recommended that the Government allow separated families to reunite without delay and to use unmonitored communication facilities, such as telephone, mail and e-mail (see A/70/362, para. 81 (f)). The issue of separated families calls for an urgent resolution. The remaining family members on each side of the border are elderly, and in the Republic of Korea alone, over 60,000 people have died without having had a chance to be reunited with or to see their loved ones. The current format of reunion, which allows people to meet for only a few hours, with no hope of ongoing contact or meeting again, is a source of psychological suffering. The separation of families must be seen as not only a humanitarian issue, but also a violation of human rights affecting people at multiple levels, including the rights to family life, to freedom of movement and to the truth. F. International abductions 40. It is estimated that between 80,000 and 100,000 civilians were abducted from the southern part of the Korean peninsula to the north during the Korean War. In addition, after the armistice, the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea carried out international abductions, primarily in the Republic of Korea and Japan, although a number of individuals were reportedly abducted from other countries. The Government of the Republic of Korea estimates that some 500 persons who were abducted after the end of the Korean War remain in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. 41. The Government of Japan has officially recognized 17 Japanese citizens as abductees, 5 of whom returned to Japan in 2002. In Japan, as of November 2015, national investigations continued into the fate of approximately 870 missing individuals in whose cases the possibility of abduction could not be ruled out. Relatives of victims, including the parents of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted from Japan in 1977 when she was 13 years old, met with representatives of OHCHR (Seoul) in October 2015 and conveyed information on their long-standing efforts to bring their loved ones back to Japan. 42. In late May 2014, the Governments of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Japan agreed to take steps towards resolving the issue of Japanese nationals who had been abducted, to identify and return the remains of those who had died in the jurisdiction of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and to address the case of Japanese spouses who had accompanied their husband or wife to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea agreed to establish a special investigation committee to conduct comprehensive investigations, while the Government of Japan agreed to lift some bilateral sanctions. However, as at December 2015, the outcome of the investigation by the committee had not been published. 43. During its sessions in March and May 2015, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances transmitted six cases of alleged abductions to the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (see A/HRC/WGEID/105/1, para. 36, and A/HRC/WGEID/106/1, para. 22). The victims of the alleged abductions reportedly disappeared in 2003 and 2011. As at December 2015, the Government had not responded to those letters of allegation. 9