North Korea called on South Korea Friday to lift its sanctions on the communist country first in order to resolve the issue of reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

The North Korean Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, which deals with inter-Korean issues, made the suggestion nearly a month after the South proposed that the rival Koreas hold high-level talks to help resolve pending issues, including family reunions.

"If the South Korean government is genuinely interested in the humanitarian issue, it should first remove the blockage measure instead of making a fuss about separated families," the committee said in a statement, carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

Following the North's torpedoing of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan in March 2010, Seoul slapped the sanctions on Pyongyang on May 24 of the same year, banning virtually all cross-border trade and exchange.

Not subject to the punitive measure is a joint industrial complex in the North's border town of Kaesong, the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.

"The South Korean government should choose the path to solve problems in inter-Korean relations fundamentally by accepting our just suggestion," the statement noted.

"Without solving this issue (May 24 sanction), any kinds of talks, contacts or exchanges are impossible under the situation," it added.

The statement came as South Korea renewed its calls earlier in the day for North Korea to accept a weeks-long offer to hold high-level talks.

"Time is running out for (the two Koreas) to discuss the reunion of separated families for the New Year's Day season," Unification Ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said in a press briefing. "Therefore, I once again call on the North to come forward to respond to our offer of talks without further hesitation."   

Asked whether inter-Korean talks are possible after the Lunar New Year's Day, which falls in mid-February, Lim said that there is no set deadline for a reaction from the North.

"If enough time is secured for preparing a reunion, the reunion event could take place at any time (regardless of timing)," Lim also noted. (Yonhap)