Koreas resume high-level talks aimed at improving ties

The two Koreas reopened vice-ministerial talks at a joint industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong Saturday morning as they failed to conclude the meeting a day earlier.

The rival Koreas appeared to have locked horns over key contentious issues -- the issue of families torn apart by the 1950-53 Korean War and the resumption of a suspended joint tour program at a North Korean mountain.

Holding the high-level talks is a key element of the inter-Korean agreement on Aug. 25 to ease tension and promote more civilian exchanges following a border land-mine explosion blamed on the North.

Two South Korean soldiers were maimed due to the blast.

"The two sides have discussed pending issues comprehensively and exchanged opinions in a serious manner," Jeong Joon-hee, spokesman at the Unification Ministry, told a group of reporters in the North's city Friday night.

Extending the talks into a second day indicates the two Koreas' efforts to revive momentum for dialogue, which has been quite dormant amid long-strained inter-Korean ties.

South Korea has placed top priority on resolving the issue of separated families as time is running out for the surviving 66,000 family members in South Korea, most of whom are over 80.

Seoul has called for holding separated-family reunions on a regular basis, but Pyongyang maintains a lukewarm stance.

Meanwhile, North Korea is likely to reiterate its call for the South to resume a joint tour program at Mount Kumgang in the North, which has been suspended since 2008, following the shooting death of a South Korean tourist.

Pyongyang has repeatedly pressed Seoul to reopen the tour program in an apparent move to earn hard currency. (Yonhap)