Some two-thousand South Koreans with families in the North and North Korean defectors held a Chuseok ancestral ritual near the inter-Korean border on Sunday.
 
An organization of separated families held the event at the Mangbaedan memorial altar in Paju, Gyeonggi Province with Minister of Unification Hong Yong-pyo in attendance.
 
The families offered flowers and incense and prayed for family reunions and reunification.
 
Minister Hong said the pain felt by separated families is not merely personal, but a national tragedy. He said the government will actively seek ways to confirm the fates of families, hold regular family reunions, exchange letters and hometown visits.