SEOUL, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- More than three-quarters of South Koreans registered as members of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War have died without being reunited with relatives in North Korea, official government data showed Thursday.
As of Dec. 31, 2025, a total of 134,516 people had registered with South Korea's government as separated family members, the Ministry of Unification said in its latest statistical release. Of those, 101,148 -- about 75% -- were confirmed dead, leaving just 34,368 survivors.
The figures highlight the rapid aging of the remaining survivors. More than 65% of living registrants are aged 80 or older, including 10,885 people aged 90 or above, the data showed.
North and South Korea have held 21 family reunions since 2000, with the most recent taking place in August 2018 during a period of inter-Korean detente. Relations have frozen over in recent years, however, and time is not on the side of family members still hoping to connect with long-lost relatives.
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