The rival Koreas have neared a deal to resume reunions of families separated by the Korean War at a rare meeting yesterday that follows conciliatory moves made by the North after it was hit by sanctions, reports said.
The inter-Korean meeting held by Red Cross Societies in the North Korean resort of Mt Kumgang is the first on humanitarian issues in about two years and comes after Pyongyang cut ties with Seoul in anger at the hardline policies of its president.
Analysts said the UN sanctions imposed on the North to punish it for carrying out a nuclear test in May could be squeezing its already depleted coffers and leading it to reach out to the South, once a major aid donor.
The two Koreas have proposed holding the reunions for the families split by the 1950-53 war in early October, but the two sides have proposed starting dates three days apart for the highly emotional gatherings, the South's Yonhap news agency reported government officials as saying.
The North suspended the reunions, which were last held about two years ago.
Relations on the troubled peninsula turned chilly after President Lee Myung-bak took office in Seoul about 18 months ago. He halted unconditional handouts and linked resuming the South's largesse to the North ending its nuclear arms ambitions.
Mr Lee had his first chance to tell North Korean officials of his policy face to face on Sunday, when he met a delegation that had flown to Seoul to mourn former president Kim Dae-jung, who was buried the same day.
North Korea has also released two US journalists and a South Korean worker it had held in separate incidents, ended restrictions on border crossings and said it wanted to restore suspended tours for South Koreans to its state.
Reuters