Seoul , South Korea ( CNN ) -- North and South Korea have agreed to hold reunions later this month of families separated since the Korean War , Seoul said Wednesday . If they go ahead , the meetings of divided Korean families would be the first to take place since 2010 . The reunions of about 100 people from each country are scheduled to take place between February 20 and 25 , the South Korean unification ministry said Wednesday , following face-to-face talks between the two sides . But those scheduled to participate are likely to be aware that North Korea has unceremoniously pulled the plug on such meetings in the past . Past disappointment . Reunions were due to take place last September , but Pyongyang canceled them with only a few days notice , accusing Seoul of souring ties between the two countries . South Korea says it sought reassurances in Wednesday 's talks that the families ' hopes would n't be dashed this time around . `` Our side expressed the position that what happened last year can not be repeated , '' the unification ministry said . `` The North shared the view . '' The reunions are an emotive issue . And time is running out for many of the surviving members of the families that were split by the 1950-53 war between the two Koreas . A lot of them are now in their 80s and 90s . Tens of thousands of people in South Korea are on the list of those wanting to take part in the reunions . This month 's planned reunions are scheduled to take place at the site where previous ones were held : Mount Kumgang , a resort on the North Korean side of the border that used to be jointly operated by both sides . Calls for better ties . The agreement on the date for the reunions follows a series of calls by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un 's regime for better relations between the two countries . South Korean officials had said they wanted to see action rather than words from Pyongyang , including moving ahead with family reunions . Wednesday 's deal is a small step forward . But a contentious issue between the two sides is also looming at the end of this month : annual military exercises in the region by South Korean and U.S. forces . The drills infuriate North Korea , which says it sees them as a prelude to an invasion . Last year , it ratcheted up its threatening rhetoric to alarming levels as the exercises took place . In its calls so far this year for better relations , North Korea has asked South Korea not to take part in the drills -- a request that Seoul and Washington have rejected . North Korea blames South , cancels family reunions in September . CNN 's Paula Hancocks and K.J . Kwon reported from Seoul , and Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong .
The reunions will take place between February 20 and 25 , South Korea says . North Korea canceled previously scheduled reunions last year . Seoul says it told Pyongyang that `` what happened last year can not be repeated '' North Korea has called for better sides , but tensions remain over U.S.-South Korean drills .