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Most S. Koreans support aid to N. Korea: UNICEF

May 19, 2015
Portraits of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, right, glow on the facade of a building as dusk descends upon Pyongyang, North Korea, May 8, 2015. In Pyongyang, commercial advertisements are rarely seen in public, but portraits of the late leaders and propaganda slogans are a common sight on buildings and along the streets.

Portraits of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, right, glow on the facade of a building as dusk descends upon Pyongyang, North Korea, May 8, 2015. In Pyongyang, commercial advertisements are rarely seen in public, but portraits of the late leaders and propaganda slogans are a common sight on buildings and along the streets.

INCHEON, May 19 (Yonhap) — More than eight out of 10 South Koreans are supportive of their government’s aid to North Korea as children there face serious food shortages, a poll by the United Nations’ children agency showed Tuesday.

Out of 800 surveyed, some 82 percent said they support Seoul’s assistance to North Korea, while less than 16 percent opposed it, according to a survey by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) carried out in April.

As for reasons for support, about 36 percent of aid proponents cited “humanitarian duty,” given the serious food situation facing North Korean children.

Some 34 percent said they prioritized children above all else and 18 percent said the situation for North Korean children was just too serious. More than 11 percent of the aid proponents said Seoul’s assistance could help relieve inter-Korean tension.

A quarter of North Korean children die before their 5th birthday, according to U.N. statistics gathered in 2013. Some 28 percent also face stunted growth due to malnutrition.

Earlier in the day, South Korea approved aid of 1 billion won (US$917,000) to assist the disabled in North Korea, a move hailed by UNICEF chief Anthony Lake.

“This represents the popular will of the people in South Korea,” he told Yonhap News Agency.