SEOUL , South Korea ( CNN ) -- 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 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 be possible . Reunions between North and South have been taking place off and on since 2000 after an inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang , Yonhap says . The last reunion took place in October 2007 . Rapprochement talks between the two Koreas have hit a wall since conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in early 2008 with a tougher stance toward the North than his liberal predecessor , Roh Moo-Hyun . The two Koreas have remained in conflict since the conclusion of the Korean War in 1953 . Last month , officials from both sides had the first high-level , cross-border contact in nearly two years when South Korean Unification Minister Hyun In Taek met with North Korean unity leader Kim Yang Gon . The meetings and reunions are in stark contrast to the tense public statements each side made about each other earlier this year . Tensions between the two were heightened in July when North Korea launched seven short-range missiles toward the Sea of Japan , also referred to as the East Sea . The launches came after North Korea conducted a nuclear test on May 25 and threatened U.S. and South Korean ships near its territorial waters . South Korea condemned the action , calling the launches `` unwise . '' Journalist Sohn Jie-Ae contributed to this report .
Families have reunion meeting at resort in South Korea , near border . Koreans must return home in 1953 . Millions of The South Koreans were separated following Korean War cease-fire in 1953 . About 10,000 people applied to participate ; Millions families approved .