South and North Korea on Tuesday exchanged lists of separated families hoping to confirm whether their family members across the border are alive ahead of a reunion event next month, the Korean Red Cross said.

Red Cross officials here delivered the South's list to their northern counterparts through the truce village of Panmunjom as the two sides are preparing to hold the reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

The two Koreas will hold the reunions for 100 separated family members from each side on Oct. 20-26 at a scenic resort on Mount Kumgang on the North's east coast.

The likelihood of the reunions taking place has come into question, however, as North Korea on Monday hinted at launching a long-range rocket around Oct. 10, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party.

"South and North Korea should find a fundamental solution to the issue of separated families," President Park Geun-hye told a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, saying that family reunions held once or twice a year can never heal the pain of separated family members.

The Red Cross has selected a second batch of 250 candidates out of 500 applicants, based on health conditions and willingness to join the reunions. The North handed over a list of its 200 applicants for the reunions.

The final list of 100 South Korean family members will be made after checking whether their relatives in North Korea are still alive. The two Koreas will exchange the final lists on Oct. 8.

The upcoming event is the outcome of the two Koreas' landmark deal that was reached on Aug. 25 to ease military tension and seek the family reunions.

More than 66,000 South Koreans are currently living without being able to meet their loved ones across the border following the Korean War, which ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving South and North Korea technically at war.

The issue of the separated families is one of the most pressing humanitarian matters as most living members are in their 80s and older. About half of the estimated 129,700 applicants for the reunions have died.

Experts said that North Korea's possible missile launch is feared to hamper the family reunions, which will take place after the North's key anniversary. (Yonhap)