place through October 1 . Millions of families were separated by the Korean War , which ended in 1953 with a cease-fire and no formal peace treaty . No mail , telephone or e-mail exchanges exist between ordinary citizens across the Korean border . The agreement to hold the reunions came after North and South Korea held three days of talks , mediated by the International Committee of the Red Cross , last month , South Korea 's Yonhap news agency reported at the time . About 10,000 people applied to take part in the reunion , but fewer than 200 families were allowed to participate . In addition to the 97 families who met Saturday , another 99 families are expected to meet next week , authorities said . Watch families share hugs , tears '' Participants are selected randomly , and there is no date set for a further reunion , which means the tens of thousands of others who were separated by the Korean War have no idea when they may get a chance to see their loved ones -- if ever . For the many separated family members who are elderly , a reunion may never
SEOUL , South Korea -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Some families long separated by the Korean War saw their loved ones Saturday for the first time in years near the border between North and South Korea . South Korean Yoon Ki-Dal , right , meets the children he left behind as babies during the Korean War . Yoon Ki-Dal , 88 , of South Korea thought such a moment would never come . After leaving his son and daughters when they were babies during the Korean War , he was able to hold the hands of his North Korean children on Saturday . `` Father , we thought you were dead , '' his daughter , now in her 60s , told him , her face trembling . Their family was one of 97 reunited Saturday on Mount Keumgang , a North Korean resort near the eastern part of the border , after decades of separation by war and ideology . And soon these families will be separated again . They are allowed to be together for a few days . Then the South Koreans must return home . The reunions -- the first in nearly two years -- are taking