South Korea's top pointman on unification said Tuesday that North Korea shares the need to identify the fate of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, though it has yet to push for a new round of family reunions.

Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo said that about half of some 66,000 South Koreans separated from their families have expressed a wish to confirm the fate of their relatives living in the North.

"The North also shares the need to identify whether their separated family members are alive," Hong said at a forum.

"Compared to the past, the North has more actively spoken about that, but it is still cautious and passive in implementing what the North says."

In late October, the two Koreas held reunions for separated families, the first since early 2014, but did not go far enough to satisfy demands to keep in touch with loved ones living across the border.

President Park Geun-hye said in August that South Korea will send North Korea a list of all separated family members to be considered for possible reunions.

South Korea seeks to hold family reunions on a regular basis, calling on the North to allow such families to exchange letters.

But Pyongyang has not responded to Seoul's call.

Meanwhile, Hong said that North Korea seems to have adjusted the pace of moves to improve inter-Korean relations as it has been silent on Seoul's proposal to hold preparatory meetings for high-level talks.

"It is too early to speak about the possibility of an inter-Korean summit," the minister said. "There should be more efforts to move toward dialogue." (Yonhap)