SEOUL, South Korea — In a deal to defuse tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula that were rapidly escalating toward armed conflict, South Korea agreed early on Tuesday to switch off its propaganda loudspeakers on the border, while North Korea agreed to stand down from its “semi-war state,” a high level of military alert.

North Korea also expressed “regrets” for the maiming of two soldiers from the South in land-mine explosions, Kim Kwan-jin, the chief national security adviser to President Park Geun-hye of South Korea, said during a news conference.

Mr. Kim also said that the two Koreas agreed to hold reunions of Koreans who became separated from relatives during the 1950-53 Korean War. Such reunions, last held in February 2014, are seen as a barometer of thawing relations.

“South and North Korea agreed to hold a government meeting in Seoul or Pyongyang at an early date so that they can have dialogue and negotiations on various issues to improve relations,” Mr. Kim said, reading a joint statement that the two countries signed at the border village of Panmunjom. The North Korean government also announced the agreement on Tuesday, which also included boosting exchanges between nongovernmental groups on the two countries.