Update | South and North Korea family reunion date fails to dispel wariness
Deal between Pyongyang, Seoul overshadowed by US war games in region
North and South Korea agreed yesterday to hold a reunion later this month for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War - the first such event for more than three years.
Officials from both sides, meeting in the border truce village of Panmunjom, decided the reunion would be held from February 20-25 at the North's Mount Kumgang resort, the South's Unification Ministry said.
The agreement marks a small sign of progress between the two rivals who, in recent years, have struggled to co-operate on even the most basic trust-building measures. However, both sides have been here before.
The two Koreas had agreed to hold a reunion last September but, even as the chosen relatives prepared to make their way to Mount Kumgang, Pyongyang cancelled the event just four days before its scheduled start, citing "hostility" from the South.
And there are widespread concerns that the families could end up being disappointed again this time around.
South Korea is due to begin joint military exercises with the United States at the end of February, and North Korea has warned of dire consequences should they go ahead.
The annual drills are always a diplomatic flashpoint on the Korean peninsula, and last year resulted in an unusually extended period of heightened military tension.
