In another move to thaw ties with the RoK, the DPRK sent a delegation to the US last week to discuss resuming nongovernmental food aid to the state that is battling against chronic shortages, said the RoK's Yonhap news agency.

The two Koreas are near a deal to resume family reunions in early October for about 100 families from both sides of the border at the Mount Kumgang resort in the DPRK, which is run by an affiliate of the South's Hyundai Group, said officials.

They have not yet reached an agreement for the exact dates of the highly emotional family meetings of families. Thousands of siblings, parents and other relatives on each side of the divided peninsula were separated when the Korean War ended after a ceasefire was declared in 1953.

Reuters