Negotiators from North and South Korea agreed Friday to start a new round of family reunions for those Korean families who have relatives on both sides of the border. Separated by the Korean War, only small numbers have been able to participate in such reunions in the past.

The Red Cross will be arranging the meetings. Hundreds of people from the two countries will be engaged in family reunions in late August, between 8/20 and 8/26. The reunions are to be held at Mount Kumgang, a North Korean tourist site.

Such reunions are a major issue for those families that have "long-lost" relatives on the opposite side of the border. These are particularly important for the elderly, who are still alive to remember the pre-war era.