This Jan. 11 file photo shows a North Korean flag at a North Korean village inside the Demilitarized Zone. Yonhap

One in four South Korean students think that unification with North Korea is unnecessary, a survey showed Friday.

In the online survey of 72,524 elementary, middle and high school students conducted by the education ministry and the unification ministry from Nov. 1 to Dec. 10 last year, 61.2 percent replied that unification is necessary, while 25 percent said it is not needed.

The rate of students against unification increased for the third consecutive year from 19.4 percent in 2019 and 24.2 percent in 2020.

Among the reasons for unification, the "reduction of the threat of war" was cited the most at 27.2 percent, followed by the "same ethnic race" at 25.5 percent and the "resolution of the separated family problem" at 20.9 percent.

Those who were opposed to unification cited the "economic burden" the most at 29.8 percent, followed by "potential social problems after unification" at 25 percent and "political differences between the South and the North" at 17 percent.

The survey also showed that 52.6 percent of respondents considered North Korea a cooperation partner, down by 2.1 percentage points from 54.7 percent tallied the previous year, while 27.1 percent said Seoul should be guarded against Pyongyang, up 2.9 percentage points.

Those considering inter-Korean relations to be peaceful amounted to 21.1 percent, while 30.2 percent said cross-border ties are not peaceful. The rate of the negative assessment fell by 5 percentage points, while the positive assessment rose by 3.5 percentage points year-on-year, according to the survey. (Yonhap)