Anchor: The Korean Red Cross has selected 500 preliminary candidates for the planned inter-Korean family reunions at Mount Geumgang resort next month. Priority was given to the elderly and those with direct family members in the North.
Our Kim In-kyung has more.
 
Report: South Korea's Red Cross has selected 500 preliminary candidates for inter-Korean family reunions that are slated to take place next month. 
 
The Korean Red Cross, which selected the candidates through a computer lottery Wednesday, will ultimately whittle down the number to 100.
 
Prior to the lottery, the Red Cross held a selection committee meeting where it determined the criteria for preliminary candidates. 
 
Priority was given to the elderly and those with direct family members in the North. The organization said 50 percent of the preliminary candidates are aged 90 or older, up from 35 percent for previous reunions.  
 
Of the 500 candidates, the agency will select 200 after checking on their health for a cross-border trip and their inclination to attend the reunions. 
 
Another 50 will be added to the list to be given to the North for cross-checking the living status of northern relatives. 
 
The additional 50 are family members of South Koreans held as prisoners of war or abducted by the North. If it is confirmed that their relatives are in North Korea, they will automatically be included in the final reunion list of 100 people.
  
The selected families will gather in Sokcho, Gangwon Province on October 19, departing for Mount Geumgang the following day.
 
Hyundai Asan, which owns a resort at the North's Mount Geumgang will send a task force as soon as the end of this month to check on the facilities.
 
The two Koreas agreed on Tuesday to hold the reunions at Mount Geumgang from October 20 to 26. 
Kim In-kyung, KBS World Radio News.