SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea promised $8.4 million worth of aid to North Korea on Monday, a conciliatory gesture that followed recent steps toward easing inter-Korean tensions and reviving economic and humanitarian cooperation.

The South Korean government will provide $6.3 million to help finance the World Health Organization’s efforts to improve medical service for malnourished infants and other children in North Korea, the Unification Ministry of South Korea said in a statement. Separately, 12 South Korean private relief groups will be allowed to send a total of $2.1 million worth of medical supplies, baby formula, vitamins, soy milk, stationery and shoes for North Korean children.

The developments followed the two Koreas’ agreement last month to restart a program that reunites family members who were separated by the Korean War six decades ago. The next reunions are scheduled to begin on Sept. 25.

The family reunion program, which began in the 1980s, was halted in 2010 when inter-Korean relations were deteriorating. Relations soured further after the North tested a nuclear device this February. But hopes for a thaw on the divided Korean Peninsula have grown in recent weeks.