Nearly 13-hundred applicants for reunions of dispersed families have passed away so far this year.

On June 25, the Ministry of Unification's database of dispersed families showed that this year's deceased applicants who have not yet reunited with their family members in North Korea reached one-thousand-379.

As of last month, among the total applicants of 133-thousand-386, only 38-point-five percent were still alive, whereas 61-point-five percent have passed away. 

The government had been preparing face-to-face and online reunions to take place in June, which marks 20 years after the North-South joint declaration and 70 years after the outbreak of the Korean War.

However, as the inter-Korean relationship worsened earlier this month, both government and private reunion campaigns were forced to stop.

The Unification Ministry said they will communicate with the North and try to fulfill the declarations announced in Pyongyang, while promoting other inter-Korean exchange routes.