Koreas summit to tackle separated families

South Korea says it is putting the issue of separated families high on the agenda of next week's first-ever summit with North Korea.

The South Korean deputy unification minister,Yang Youngshik, said President Kim Dae-jung was determined to resolve the issue at any cost.

Mr Yang said the government planned to do this by linking it flexibly with economic cooperation.

Several million people fled from North Korea to South Korea during the Korean War in the early 1950s.

Correspondents say many are old and anxious to see long-lost relatives before they die.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service