South and North Korea are likely to exchange lists of their chief delegates next week for the upcoming high-level talks aimed at discussing ways to improve their ties, a government official said Tuesday.

The two Koreas have agreed to hold a vice-ministerial meeting at a joint industrial park in the North's border city of Kaesong next Friday as they are seeking to mend long-strained ties.

It is yet to be known who will represent the talks from each side, but the two Koreas are expected to exchange the lists of their top negotiators next week, according to an official at the Unification Ministry.

Touching on agenda items, the official hinted that both sides are not likely to adjust them prior to the talks.

"It would be difficult (for the two sides) to have further consultations over topics for the talks," the official said.

At a working-level meeting last week, the two Koreas agreed to discuss pending issues related to the improvement of Seoul-Pyongyang relations at the Dec. 11 talks, without elaborating.

But the South is widely expected to raise the issue of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War while North Korea is likely to call on the South to resume the long-suspended joint tour program at Mount Kumgang in the North. (Yonhap)