The two Koreas agreed on Friday to proceed with reunions of family members separated since the 1950-53 Korean War, easing fears that they’d be cancelled over joint U.S.-ROK military drills. 

The agreement, the conclusion of high-level talks that began Wednesday, comes after the North insisted that the drills, set to start February 24, either be cancelled or postponed until after the February 20-25 reunions. The South refused, maintaining that the two issues were separate, and the apparent stalemate had left family members set to take part in the reunions worried.

However, Friday’s agreement seemingly confirmed that the reunions