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North and South Korean talks on organising a reunion for families separated by the Korean War appeared deadlocked today after marathon day-night negotiations struggled to make a breakthrough.
Unconfirmed South Korean media reports suggested officials from the two countries' Red Cross branches were unable to agree on when to hold the proposed event.
Seoul is understood to be pushing for a date before a major North Korean political anniversary on October 10, fearing Pyongyang might use the occasion to engage in a provocative act that could scupper the reunion altogether.
The Red Cross talks in the border truce village of Panmunjom began yesterday morning and, according to the South's Unification Ministry, ran through the night with only occasional breaks.
"There is still no word when they may wrap up," said a ministry official who declined to comment on reasons for the apparent impasse.
The Panmunjom discussions were the product of an agreement the two Koreas reached two weeks ago to end a dangerous military standoff and reduce cross-border tensions.
Pyongyang has already accused Seoul of spinning the settlement as a North Korean climbdown, and warned that it would tear up the entire deal -- including the family reunion -- if the South continues making "wild remarks".
North Korea is planning a massive military parade on October 10 to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers' Party.
There has been speculation that it might also launch a long-range rocket -- a move that would trigger fresh UN sanctions and raise tensions on the divided peninsula.
Millions of people were separated during the 1950-53 Korean War conflict that sealed the division between the two Koreas.
Most died without having a chance to see or hear from their families on the other side of the border, across which all civilian communication is banned.
About 66,000 South Koreans -- many of them in their 80s or 90s -- are on the waiting list for an eventual reunion, but only several hundred can be chosen each time.
The reunion programme began in earnest after a historic North-South summit in 2000, and was initially an annual event.
But strained cross-border relations have allowed only one reunion in the past five years, with several being cancelled at the last moment by North Korea.
