North Korean defectors and South Koreans have largely negative views of each other, scholars participating in a conference in Seoul said late last week.

At the conference, co-hosted by the Ilmin International Relations Institute and the Public Policy Institute of Korea University, scholars discussed the reasons for the negative perceptions between the two groups and how to improve their social integration ahead of unification.

The longer defectors stay in South Korea, the higher the academic level they achieve. This results in a negative recognition of the South Korean leadership system, which means they are becoming dissatisfied with the political system