SEOUL -- South and North Korea exchanged a list of candidates for family reunions Sunday as they marked the anniversary of a landmark summit and peace declaration three years ago.

The exchange followed a symbolic ceremony Saturday in the heavily armed inter-Korean buffer zone to reconnect cross-border railways severed for more than 50 years, AFP reported.

Three years ago on Sunday, then South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il signed a landmark declaration for peace at a summit in the communist country.

But a tense stand-off over North Korea's nuclear ambitions has dampened efforts to push through inter-Korean exchanges and reconciliation, leaving the bankrupt Stalinist country isolated further.

Pyongyang made a friendly gesture toward Seoul Saturday by agreeing to resume tours to its Kumgang resort, suspended in April for fear of SARS, and to arrange reunions of separated families late this month.

The two sides also tightened screws on the cross-border railway track Saturday through the four-kilometer (2.5 mile)-wide demilitarized zone, which has divided the peninsula since the 1950-53 Korean War.

South Korea hopes to restore rail links with North Korea by the end of December.