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I was always under the impression that Gondor - despite being underpopulated in comparision to the days of it's greatest height (and the days of Númenor) - would still be perhaps the most populous of all realms of Middle-Earth. The same could be said of Rohan, where the chief settlement of Rohan, Edoras was rather empty in the days of the War of the Ring, yet King Théoden was able to summon many thousands of Men across the Ridder-Mark at Harrowdale. Of course, if Denethor was in his right mind, he could summon similar numbers across Gondor in addition to the knights of Dol Amroth and Men from other settlements. My point is that despite the relative under population of Osgiliath and Minas Tirith, the numbers of Gondor would still be enough to send a band of pioneers to the North and begin the re-building of Arnor.
I also believe that the Kingdom of Arnor could be rebuilt without the aid of Gondor, because I think that there are plenty of Men in the North as well as the Dúnedain to populate Arnor. What they lacked was leadership, and I don't think Aragorn was in a position to confirm himself as the one to rebuild Arnor until after the War of The Ring, afterall Gondor was under a greater threat. There was no one in the North to rebuild Fornost or Annúminas while defending the North at the same time.
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