Video messages from separated relatives still waiting to be delivered in North Korea

SEOUL, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- More than 24,000 video messages have been recorded by separated families hoping to reach relatives in North Korea since 2005 -- but almost none have been delivered, South Korea's Unification Ministry said on Tuesday.

The video letters were created in conjunction with the Red Cross, with more than 1,000 new ones added this year, the ministry said in a statement. But North Korea has shown little interest in receiving them -- just 40 video messages have ever been exchanged between North and South, according to the Red Cross.