Eight out of ten South Koreans at home and overseas who were separated from family in North Korea during the Korean War have yet to confirm whether their relatives are still alive.

According to the unification ministry's latest survey on Thursday involving five-thousand-354 of around 47-thousand registered separated family members, 82 percent said their relatives' status in the North remained unclear.

Of the 18 percent who have confirmed such information, half said they were informed through private organizations or individually. Less than a quarter said they learned through the government.

Most of the people, or 93-point-seven percent, said they still wished to meet with their long-lost loved ones through government-led reunions, compared to six-point-three percent who preferred privately organized events.

Those preferring government reunions cited being able to trust government confirmation regarding their relatives, security guarantees and no generated costs.

Meanwhile, 65-point-eight percent of respondents called for a system to help them confirm whether their relatives were still alive and to notify them of their deaths.