North Koreans smaller, weaker than S. Koreans

According to a government health report by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on North Koreans who entered South Korea between 2005 and 2008, young North Korean refugees are shorter and lighter than South Korean adolescents.

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.

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.

Chosun Ilbo