The United States praised South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday for her efforts to improve relations with North Korea after the two Koreas agreed to hold reunions of separated families next month.

"We appreciate President Park's tireless efforts to improve inter-Korean relations, including through pursuit of family reunions," State Department spokesperson Katina Adams said in response to a Yonhap News Agency request for comment on the inter-Korean agreement.

Earlier Tuesday, Red Cross officials of the two Koreas reached the agreement to hold reunions from Oct. 20-26 at the North's scenic Mount Kumgang resort, keeping up a conciliatory mood after defusing a tense military standoff last month.

The talks were aimed at following up on last month's landmark peace deal in which the two sides agreed to end the standoff, which had sparked fears of a major clash, and take other steps toward reconciliation, including holding family reunions.

Relations between the two Koreas have been bad since the North's two attacks on the South in 2010 -- the sinking of a South Korean warship and the shelling of a South Korean border island -- which claimed the lives of 50 people.

But the ties showed signs of improvement in recent weeks following last month's peace agreement. (Yonhap)