N.Koreans Are Smaller, Weaker Than S.Koreans

Young North Korean refugees are shorter and lighter than South Korean adolescents, according to a government health report of North Koreans who entered South Korea between 2005 and 2008.

The average height of North Korean boys between 13 and 18 stands at 155.7 cm, 13.5 cm shorter than their South Korean counterparts. Girls from North Korea in the age group are 151.1 cm tall on average, 8.3 cm shorter than their South Korean counterparts. The average weight of young male North Koreans is 47.3 kg, 13.5 kg lighter than South Korean teenage boys. North Korean girls weigh 46.9 kg, as against 52.3 kg for South Korean girls.

The report was recently presented by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to Grand National Party lawmaker Son Sook-mee of the National Assembly's Health, Welfare and Family Affairs Committee.

The KCDC conducts annual medical checkups of 8,214 North Korean refugees -- 6,967 people aged 19 up, and 1,257 people aged 18 or below -- who came to the South between 2005 and 2008.

Adult North Koreans are also 4 to 6 cm shorter than South Koreans. The average height of North Korean men stands at 165.4 cm while North Korean women were 154.2 cm tall on average. South Korean men and women are 171.4 cm and 158.4 cm tall on average.

The average weight of men from North Korea is 60.2 kg, 11.8 kg less than that of South Korean men. North Korean women weigh 52.8 kg, 4.3 kg less than South Korean women.

There are also health problems. Some 35.8 percent of adolescents and 24.6 percent of adults are infected with parasites, up to 12 times more than the rate among South Koreans.

Parasite infection among North Korean defectors dropped from 38 percent in 2005 to 17.7 percent in 2007, but the figure rose again to 28.6 percent in 2008. In the 2008 medical checkup, 48.3 percent of young North Korean refugees were infected with parasites. Some 8.4 percent of North Korean men and 24.7 percent of women had anemia, 4 times and 1.8 times more than South Koreans.

"The report proves that food aid provided by South Korea, other countries and international organizations has failed to help improve the health of North Koreans," Son said. "We must strengthen monitoring to guarantee that malnourished and needy North Korean people receive the food offered by the international community."