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North Koreans visibly shorter than South Koreans due to malnourishment

Two professors from Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul have studied the heights of North Korean refugees upon their border crossing into South Korea. These people come from all social classes and all regions.

Data collected suggests that North Korean men are on average between 3 – 8cm shorter than South Koreans. There is also a visible difference between children: The height gap between pre-school boys and pre-school girls is 4cm and 3cm, consecutively.

Findings are supported by data from the North Korean government and international organizations.

The difference in height cannot be attributed to genetics, as the two populations are the same and Korea has not received any immigration for centuries.

Poor diet in early years of life leads to stunted growth

According to Martin Bloem, the head of the World Food Programme, this is true. The organization has been providing North Korea food aid since 1995.

The first two years of a child’s life has a critical impact on a their height later in life.

According to the World Food Programme, "one in every three children remains chronically malnourished or 'stunted', meaning they are too short for their age".

South Korean women are said to be approaching the height of the average North Korean man.

Read more at BBC News.