North Koreans wave to their family members from the South as they depart from a hotel at Mount Geumgang where they held a short reunion in October, 2015. Korea Times file

South Korea has designated Aug. 13 on the lunar calendar as a commemorative day for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, Seoul's unification ministry said Tuesday.

The establishment of Separated Families Day came as the National Assembly on Monday approved a revised bill aimed at promoting inter-Korean exchanges over separated families, according to the ministry in charge of affairs related to the two Koreas.

The date was selected by reflecting separated families' wishes, as many of them voiced hope to reunite with their kin in the North on Aug. 13 on the lunar calendar, a day before the start of the annual Chuseok fall harvest holiday.

Chuseok, which falls on Aug. 15 on the lunar calendar, is one of the country's two biggest traditional holidays, when Koreans visit hometowns to meet their family members.

The designation will also help the government and municipalities to hold and promote commemorative events on the same day, the ministry said.

The issue of the separated families has taken on greater urgency as more elderly people have died without having a chance to meet their kin in the North amid the secretive regime's reluctance to hold family reunion events. (Yonhap)