Malnutrition, a lack of clean water and poor public health infrastructure are chronic problems in North Korea -- all leading to a widening health gap with the South.
For one thing, North Korean men are 15 cm shorter than their counterparts in the South on average. For 11-year-old boys, it's worse, with the gap reaching nearly 20 cm. Due to stunted growth, the North Korean military was forced to lower its minimum height requirement to 138 cm two years ago.
The dire conditions have caused the gap in life expectancy and infant mortality rate to widen as well. The life expectancy gap is 12 years, with North Koreans living an average of less than 70 years, while South Koreans live 81 years on average. The infant mortality rate in North Korea is nine times higher than that of South Korea.
