SEOUL -- The Public of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) failed to reach an agreement on resuming inter-Korean family reunions as they met for a second round of talks on the issue, but promised to meet again on October 1 for further discussion, the ROK government said Friday.

The two sides held a second-round meeting on family reunions in the border town of Kaesong, led by the Red Cross.

According to the Ministry of Unification, the two sides, after day-long disputes, failed to narrow differences as the DPRK insisted on first resuming tours to the Mount Kumgang resort that had been suspended for more than two years.

Instead, the two sides decided to meet again on October 1 for further talks, hoping to reach an agreement, especially on the venue.

SEOUL, Republic of Korea - Red Cross officials from the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea discussed holding another round of reunions for families separated by war more than a half-century ago, the ROK's Unification Ministry said on Friday.

The meeting comes a week after the two sides failed to decide on a venue for or the scale of the reunions - popular on both sides of the heavily fortified border.

Agreement on holding the reunions would be a sign of improving relations between the ROK and DPRK, whose ties have sunken to new lows after the March sinking of an ROK warship that an international investigation blamed on Pyongyang. The DPRK denies involvement.

In a move that threatens to exacerbate tensions on the peninsula, the ROK and the United States said on Friday they will hold joint anti-submarine exercises next week.

Still, the two sides held a 35-minute session in the DPRK's border city of Kaesong on Friday morning and were deciding whether to continue the talks in the afternoon, according to the ministry.

"We will mainly concentrate on making an agreement on the venue issue," ROK chief negotiator Kim Eyi-do told reporters before crossing the border into Kaesong.

The ROK wants to hold the family meetings in a reunion center at the DPRK's scenic Diamond Mountain resort. The DPRK also suggested hosting the meetings at the resort but wouldn't say where exactly.

The scenic resort has been at the center of the dispute between the ROK and DPRK since 2008 when an ROK tourist was fatally shot after allegedly entering a restricted military area next to the resort. The ROK has since halted the tours to the resort.

Pyongyang has repeatedly demanded that Seoul resume tours to the facility, but the ROK has refused to restart tours until its demands for a joint investigation into the shooting are carried out.

The two sides last held reunions in late 2009, one of the few areas in which the divided ROK and DPRK consistently cooperate.

Since 2000, more than 20,800 of the millions of families that were divided by the 1950 to 1953 Korean War have been reunited through brief face-to-face meetings or by video.

Associated Press