A group of elderly South Koreans left North Korea Wednesday after bidding a tearful farewell to their families living in the North following a three-day reunion event at Mount Geumgang. 

The 89 participants and their accompanying family members from the South departed the North Korean mountain resort at 1:28 p.m. on buses following a group lunch meeting. 

The South Koreans enjoyed 12 hours of reunions during the three-day event, which began with a group meeting on Monday afternoon and a welcome dinner later in the day. 

Individual meetings and private lunch sessions followed on Tuesday, along with group meetings. 

The second round of reunions will be held at the same venue from Friday to Sunday, with 83 North Koreans set to meet their family members from the South.

This week's family reunions come nearly three years after the last such event was held in October 2015 and follow-up the agreement the leaders of South and North Korea reached in April to address humanitarian issues arising from nearly seven decades of division caused by the Korean War.