North and South Korea on Friday agreed that reunions for families who were separated by the Korean War would resume in August.

The meetings will be the first to occur since 2015, as the two Koreas continue to try to ease tensions amid the North's commitment to denuclearization.

The decision to continue the reunions was among the agreements reached between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at their landmark summit in April.

Read more: Korean family reunions: Too little, too late?

Officials from both sides met at the North's scenic Mount Kumgang resort on Friday and decided the reunions will take place August 20–26, with 100 participants from the North and South.

South Korea uses a computerized lottery system to pick participants, while the North's system is unclear, but it is believed it only picks citizens seen as loyal to its authoritarian government.

Korean family reunion The reunions: A poltical issue South Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae pushed 91-year-old Choi Jeong-ho's, one of many wheelchair-bound participants to the bus. The reunion program began after a historic North-South summit in 2000, and the waiting lists are long. For many, time ran out: Last year alone 3,800 South Koreans who applied to take part died without ever seeing their relatives.

Korean family reunion Heading off to the reunion 86-year-old Heo Kyung-ok waving from a bus as she departs to reunite with family. The South Koreans, with an average age of 84, left the eastern port city of Sokcho at 8:30 am on board 10 buses, with half a dozen police vehicles as escorts.

Korean family reunion Sisters' reunion 96-year-old Kim Seong-yun from South Korean (left) met her North Korean sister Kim Seok-rye and other relatives fro the first time since they were separated following the 1950-53 Korean war. She brought gifts ranging from basic medicines to framed family photos.

Korean family reunion Brother meets sister 88-year-old Lee Sun-hyang from South Korea met her 72-year-old North Korean brother Lee Yun-geun for the first time in decades. The first family reunions were held in 1985, and several more from 2000 to 2010. None had been held since then and the latest come at a difficult time for the two Koreas, which are still technically at war: US-South Korean joint military manoevres are to begin next week. Author: Rina Goldenberg



Three days to make up for decades

The current reunion program began following a historic inter-Korean summit in 2000 and was initially held annually before becoming scarce.

Only about 57,000 people who have registered with the South Korean Red Cross for the chance to meet their separated relatives remain alive, with most of them aged over 70.

Read more: Korea summit 'is a great opportunity'

After the war ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, the two Koreas banned millions of people who found themselves suddenly divided from visiting each other's territory across the border.

Most have still had no word on whether their loved ones are alive, with the governments prohibiting the exchange of letters, phone calls and emails.

Participants are given just three days to make up for decades of lost time with their family.

Watch video 00:31 North and South Korea to allow family reunions

law/kms (AFP, AP, dpa)