The Korean peninsula has been divided into for more than sixty years into a communist north and a capitalist south and relations between the two nations have never been cordial, however, they put their differences aside to allow families to reunite. Over the last couple of days relatives who have not seen each other since the Korean War ended in 1953 met again and shared six decades worth of stories.

According to the New York Times, South Korea will deliver $998,000 worth of medicine and powdered milk to North Korea in exchange of continuing the reunions between families. The reunions began in 2000 as "trust-building" projects, so-called by South Korea, to improve relations between the two nations. According to analysts interviewed by The Guardian, one of North Korea's remaining leverage relies on family reunions, which they are using to receive supplies and money. The last reunions happened three years ago but these current ones were jeopardized by North Korea's latest war-footing and nuclear tests, the New York Times explains.

The visits are divided in two, according to The Guardian. On Thursday, 80 South Koreans made their way to the Kumgang Mountain Resort in North Korea to meet their relatives. These reunions will end Saturday when another group of 360 South Koreans will arrive and stay until Tuesday.

The Guardian also explains how the South picks those who will be reunited. In 2000, the South Korean government created a computerized lottery system to pick the names of those who will meet their relatives. It is not known how the North picks their selections.

Yet, future reunions have not been scheduled and the recent attention North Korea has been receiving may make these reunions the last ones for a while. The United Nations released a report on Feb. 17 highlighting human rights abuses in the totalitarian nation. The Wall Street Journal reports that the North Korean government vehemently opposes these allegations, calling them "sheer lies and fabrications deliberately cooked up by hostile forces."