An opposition lawmaker said Tuesday an average of 3,000 South Koreans with separated families in the North are dying every year, while only a few of them given the opportunity for a reunion.

According to the data compiled by Rep. Lee Seok-hyun of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, 67,740 of 130,982 South Koreans with families in North Korea have died so far, with only 1.8 percent of them having been granted a chance to be reunited with long-lost loved ones.

A separate data compiled by Hyundai Research Institute earlier also showed that all of the separated families in the South will die in 25 years, indicating around 7,200 must be given opportunities every year if all the survivors are to be given a chance in their lifetime.

"The reunion of separated families must be approached in a humanitarian manner, regardless of the inter-Korean tensions," Lee said, adding the government must make more active steps to arrange reunions.

The two Koreas technically remain at war to this day since the Korean War (1950-53) ended in a cease-fire and not a peace treaty. (Yonhap)