Two Koreas agree to hold family reunion as scheduled

South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed Friday to hold the family reunion as planned from Feb. 20 to 25, South Korean chief delegate to the inter-Korean high-level talks told a press conference.

Kim Kyou-hyun, head of the South Korean delegation, told reporters that the two Koreas will hold the reunion of separated families as scheduled, referring to the three-point agreement reached between Seoul and Pyongyang at the second round of high- level talks in the border village of Panmunjeom.

Delegations from both sides also agreed to stop slandering each other to enhance mutual understanding and trust, while continuing to consult with each other on mutual interests and making efforts to develop the inter-Korean relations.

Kim said that the two Koreas agreed to hold another high-level dialogue when both sides feel comfortable.

Five-member delegates from each side staged the second round of talks at the Peace House on the South Korean side of the truce village of Panmunjeom.

The three-hour-long meeting ended with the three-point agreement. The first round of talks on Wednesday extended into midnight, but failed to reach any tangible agreement.

At the first round, the DPRK called for South Korea to delay the annual joint military exercises with the United States until after the end of the family reunion.

But Seoul said the joint war games was unrelated with the reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, insisting to go ahead with the drills as scheduled from Feb. 24 to April 18.

Kim said that the first high-level talks since President Park Geun-hye took power a year ago was the first step to mend ties between the two Koreas.

The two rounds of high-level talks, also the first such talks since May 2007, came after Pyongyang made the talks proposal to Seoul, seeking to prove its sincerity with action toward improving ties with its southern neighbor.