The unification ministry said Friday it has approved a plan to spend 815 million won (US$592,000) this year to conduct a survey on the fate of South Korean families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.The government plans to carry out the survey on some 38,000 applicants for separated family reunion events and their children and grandchildren from August to November, according to the ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs.With the survey, the ministry plans to update its information on divided families and collect opinions about the government's policy on separated families, it added.Previously, the ministry conducted such a survey every five years. But starting this year, the government will inspect the situation of separated families every three years, advancing the original schedule of 2026.The government has decided to shorten the survey cycle in a bid to map out policies in a timely manner as more elderly people have passed away without having a chance to meet their long-lost relatives in No rth Korea.The number of surviving separated family members came to 38,295 as of the end of May, with 67.2 percent of the total aged 80 and older, according to government data.Source: Yonhap News Agency