The Unification Ministry is working with the Korean Red Cross to roll out a virtual reality tour of North Korea for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, the ministry said Sunday.

“The project aims to comfort the split families here, as the window of reunion opportunity is getting smaller by the day, given their advanced age,” a ministry official said.

The first VR content will be about the hometown of Hyun Mi, an 83-year-old singer who was born in Pyongyang in 1937 and was popular in the 1960s. The scenes of her village and its residents will be re-created based on her memory, officials said, adding the content will be completed by the end of this month.

After launching its pilot program this year, the ministry aims to develop the program in the long term by including more North Korean regions and inviting citizens to participate in the program.

The annual event to cheer up the divided families during the Chuseok holiday in October is likely to be replaced by an online music concert, due to the stronger social distancing rules still in place to curb the coronavirus outbreak, the ministry added.

By Choi Si-young & news reports (siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)