Nearly 90,000 people crossed the inter-Korean border this year--more than three times that of last year--while inter-Korean trade exceeded the billion-dollar mark.

The Unification Ministry on Thursday said 503 South and North Korean companies traded 760 items this year, with the South raising its investment in the North seven million dollars to 18.7 million.

Some 3,150 separated families from the two Koreas met in two offline and three online reunions and the whereabouts of some 7,000 lost relatives were confirmed. More than 10,000 people have met their long-lost kin since 2000.

The two Koreas also held 34 meetings including three ministerial talks since inter-Korean dialogue resumed in May this year.