South Korea has expressed its desire to discuss with North Korean officials the reunion of Korean families separated during the Korean War after the closing ceremony of the Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea.

The South expressed this sentiment when high ranking North Korean officials made an unexpected after the closing ceremony of the games.

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Lim Byeong-cheol, a spokesman of the Unification Ministry, said the South considers the separated families the most important and urgent issue.

South Korean president Park Geun-hye has been pressing efforts to resume the high-level talks to help alleviate the tension between the two Koreas.

Both parties agreed to resume the high-level talks, which were effectively suspended last February. The two divided countries acknowledged that they will meet again within late October or the coming early November.

U.S. officials who visited Seoul were pleased with the progress on the continuation of dialogues between the two Koreas after their meetings with the officials of South Korean last Monday.

Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Russel said that as part of America's policy, it supports all efforts that would promote inter-Korean relations.

Technically, the two Koreas remain at war under a truce that placed an end to their conflict during 1950-1953. However, there was no constant medium for contacts between the two Koreas' citizens.

The first family reunion started in 1985, South Korea then wanted to make the said reunions a regular occasion. 19 family reunions have been done since its inception, the latest was back in February this year.

TagsNorth Korea–South Korea relations, Divided regions, Political geography