UN chief welcomes agreement between Koreas

 U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Friday welcomed the agreement reached between North and South Korea to hold family reunions from February 20-25 at Mount Kumgang.According to a statement from Ban's office, the secretary-general is particularly encouraged by the agreement after he called upon North Korea to show flexibility and to decouple humanitarian matters, such as family reunions, from political and security matters."Tension between the Koreas has been high and inter-Korean relations have remained strained for a long time. As such, this important development is a step in the right direction," the statement said. "The Secretary-General encourages both sides to keep up the momentum by continuing high-level engagement and taking further steps to build confidence and trust.""The Secretary-General reaffirms his strong commitment to contribute to promoting peace, development and stability on the Korean peninsula as well as improving inter-Korean relations," the statement said.