SEOUL, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- North and South Korea on Friday set dates for family members on both sides of the border to meet in the first such meetings in three years.
The North and South came to an agreement on the contentious humanitarian program after a day of negotiations in the border village of Panmunjom, The New York Times reported.
The 1950-53 Korean War separated millions of family members. Reunions have been on hold since 2010.
The first round of reunions for families separated by the war will be held from Sept. 25-30 at the Diamond Mountain resort in southeastern North Korea. A second round of reunions will be held online on Oct. 22-23.
"South and North Korea agreed to continue their efforts to make family reunions regular events, help families learn the fate of their relatives and exchange letters," read the joint agreement signed on Friday.
In South Korea, there are about 73,000 people who have requested to meet with their relatives in the North, the report said.
Lee Duck-hang, the head of South Korea's three-member negotiation team, said since the 1970s the Red Cross has been successful in easing inter-Korean relations.
North Korean chief delegate Park Yong Il also said the Red Cross talks should contribute to better relations, Yonhap said.
The agreement on the family reunion issue follows an agreement earlier this month between the two Koreas to reopen their joint industrial park in the North's border city of Kaesong, which was closed in April at the height of tensions between the two sides.
