SEOUL: North and South Korean officials held talks Friday about restarting reunions for families separated by war 60 years ago, as tension on the peninsula showed signs of easing.
Tens of thousands of Koreans on both sides have not seen family members since the 1950-53 war divided the peninsula. There are no civilian mail or telephone services and many do not know whether relatives are still alive.
"It is an urgent task to help separated families reunite with their relatives. We must not put it off any longer," the South`s chief delegate Kim Eui-Do told journalists before crossing into the North.
Talks started at 10:30 am (0130 GMT) at a hotel in the North`s city of Kaesong, near the heavily fortified border, Seoul`s unification ministry said.
Seoul`s 14-strong delegation includes two Red Cross officials and several members of the unification ministry which handles cross-border ties.
At the talks the North proposed reunions for about 100 people in late October at its east coast resort of Mount Kumgang, the ministry said.
The South called for the reunions to become a regular event. Many people are dying before they have a chance to meet long-lost relatives.
In September last year, hundreds had tearful three-day-long reunions in the North as the humanitarian programme resumed after a two-year hiatus.
But relations worsened sharply after South Korea accused the North of torpedoing one of its warships and killing 46 sailors near the disputed sea border in March.
The North denied involvement in the sinking and threatened retaliation for South Korean military exercises staged as a show of strength.
But the communist state has been making apparent peace overtures this month.
It returned a South Korean fishing boat and its seven crew seized in August, proposed a resumption of the reunions and requested flood aid from its neighbour.
The South`s Red Cross is sending government-funded supplies worth 10 billion won (8.6 million dollars), while other private groups have also dispatched flood aid.
On Wednesday the North proposed holding military talks with the South to discuss border and other disputes.
Seoul responded cautiously, saying Pyongyang has failed to apologise for the ship sinking, but has not yet given a firm answer.
Cross-border ties became frosty after a conservative government took office in Seoul in February 2008 and linked major aid to progress on nuclear disarmament.
The South`s annual shipments of hundreds of thousands of tons of food and fertiliser to its hungry neighbour were suspended.
Unification Minister Hyun In-Taek told parliament Thursday that Seoul must consider the state of overall relations before resuming the shipments.
BDST: 1019 HRS, September 17, 2010
