Dozens of South Koreans began their second day on Mount Kumgang on Tuesday by having private meetings with their long-separated families, a day after a tearful first group encounter in about seven decades.

On Monday, the 89 elderly South Koreans and 185 North Korean people reunited for the first time at the scenic resort on the North's east coast since they were mostly separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. The last such event was held in October 2015.

The families saw each other again starting at about 10 a.m. on Tuesday in their hotel rooms. They will also have lunch together after the two-hour meeting.

This represents the first time ever that separated families have had such private time together during family reunion events.

They will also join a group meeting at 3 p.m.

This photo taken by the Joint Press Corps shows a group of people meeting for the first time since they were separated by the 1950-53 Korean War during a family reunion event held at the Mount Kumgang resort on North Korea's east coast on Aug. 20, 2018. (Yonhap)

On Wednesday, the last day of their three-day stay here, they will have one last chance to meet in group, followed by a group lunch before returning to the South.

Following the three-day reunions that will end Wednesday, 83 North Koreans will also reunite with their relatives found to be alive in the South from Friday through Sunday. More than 300 South Koreans will travel to the venue later this week for the event.

The family reunion event comes amid a thaw in inter-Korean relations.

It is a follow-up on an agreement their leaders reached in an April summit to address humanitarian challenges arising from decades of division caused by the Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. (yonhap)

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