The eleventh inter-Korean reunions of separated families on Friday officially began their six-day run with the first group session.

A total of 99 South Koreans will meet 233 long-lost kin from North Korea in the first stage. The 370 participants will also attend a welcoming dinner hosted by the North at Mount Geumgang Hotel.

Individual reunions will start Saturday morning and tours to scenic Samilpo Lake will follow in the afternoon.

Separated relatives will have a final hour with each other on Sunday morning and return home via the overland Donghae route to Sokcho, Gangwon Province.

On Monday, another group of some 430 South Koreans will travel to Mount Geumgang for reunions.

At the end of the two reunions Wednesday, the two Koreas will hold a ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a permanent reunion center at the resort.