National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun on Tuesday said the parliament must speed up efforts to hold reunion events of separated families from the two Koreas, adding the time is running out as those that experienced the Korean War (1950-53) are becoming older.

"We do not have much time. More than 3,000 people are dying every year without fulfilling their dreams of meeting their families. In a humanitarian manner, we must seek to hold a reunion next month for Chuseok," Chung said. Chuseok is the fall harvest holiday celebrated in both Koreas and one of the largest holidays of the year.

Chung added the two Koreas should also consider providing alternative methods to communicate with each other, including letters or video calls. The two Koreas technically remain at war to this day since the three-year-old conflict ended in a cease-fire and not a peace treaty.

The parliamentary office said the number of surviving applicants for family reunions, stands at 63,670 this year, while those that wanted to meet their long-lost relatives but died before doing so reached 67,180.

Among the survivors, 10,547 were more than 90 years old, fueling urgency to arrange reunions. Only 418 people per year managed to meet their families between 2008-2016 amid the prolonged tension with Pyongyang. (Yonhap)