Seoul: Nearly half of elementary to high school students think unification with North Korea is necessary, a survey by the unification and education ministries showed Tuesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, a total of 49.7 percent of about 70,000 elementary, middle, and high school students responded that unification is needed in the annual survey conducted last year by the ministries.

The figure marked an increase of 2.1 percentage points from 2024. Meanwhile, 37.9 percent of those surveyed said unification is unnecessary, down 4.4 percentage points from a year earlier. Those who supported unification cited the elimination of risks of an inter-Korean war as the main reason for their choice, while those who opposed pointed to potential social problems stemming from unification as their primary reason.

A total of 41.6 percent described North Korea as a country to be wary of, while 32.2 percent viewed it as a partner for cooperation. A majority, or 60.3 percent, said the two Koreas are in a nonpeaceful relationship, with only 8.6 percent viewing them as being in a peaceful relationship.

The survey was conducted online on 70,242 students at 816 elementary, middle, and high schools across the nation from Oct. 16 to Nov. 17 last year. It has a 95 percent confidence level, with a margin of error of plus or minus 0.37 percentage point.