The unification ministry said Wednesday it has approved a plan to spend 610 million won (US$457,270) to conduct DNA tests on families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
The project is meant to use gene information to find divided families’ relatives in North Korea as more aging separated family members in South Korea have died without having a chance to meet with their kin in the North.
Since 2014, the ministry has conducted such gene tests on 27,794 divided family members in South Korea.
The government said it plans to expand DNA tests to children and grandchildren of separated families down the road and provide support for gene tests on separated family members living abroad.
The number of surviving separated family members came to 39,258 as of the end of January, with 67.9 percent of the total aged 80 and older, according to government data.
The divided Koreas have held 21 rounds of reunions since the landmark summit of their leaders in 2000. The two sides last staged temporary family reunions in 2
018.
Source: Yonhap News Agency