Seven out of ten South Koreans believe the human rights situation in the North is in a "severe’ state," according to a recent poll. 

The survey results, announced by the National Unification Advisory Council on December 4th, indicate 35.6 percent of those asked said the situation is "extremely severe," while 41.2 percent said it is "to some extent severe."

When asked for responses on the best way to improve conditions in the North, 32.5 percent suggested “urging improvements through dialogue,” while 32.1 percent said, “pressure through cooperation with the international community;” 10.3 percent said “prosecuting the North Korean leadership through the International Criminal Court [ICC],” and 6.4 percent said “creating a North Korean human rights act.” 

Predictably, nine out of ten people in the South were shown to show mistrust for the Kim Jong Eun regime.

When asked to what extent they have faith in the leadership, 61.6 percent said "none" and 29.7 percent said "almost none," adding up to more than 90 percent of those surveyed. 

In contrast, to the same question, "very much faith" (0.3%) and "to some extent" (4.9%) were significantly less represented among the responses.

To the question about stability of the Kim Jong Eun leadership, the vast majority expressed doubt, with the answers "not very stable" (45.2%) and "not stable at all" (42%), accounting for almost 90 percent. 

When asked "what greatest achievement the Park Geun Hye administration has made with policies towards the North," the leading response was "taking a firm approach towards North Korea’s provocations and its deterrence" (25.1%); but a near 20 percent also said they either "do not know" or chose not to answer.

Regarding the issue of "providing humanitarian aid to the North," the majority (65.0%) said "it should only be provided if it is properly distributed to the people in the North," and in terms of the outlook for inter-Korean relations next year, most believe (62.8%) there will be "no change."

This survey was conducted by Research and Research, a marketing socio-political research firm in the South, from November 28-30th on 1,000 adults aged 19 and over. The confidence level is at 95 percent with a ±3.1 percentage point margin of error. 

Meanwhile, in the management and steering committee meeting held by The National Unification Advisory Council, a statement of recommendation for the "2015 Park Geun Hye administration North Korea policies" was adopted. 

Included in the document were four suggestions: ▲ review opening a 2nd ‘Kaesong Industrial Complex’ near the border areas with North Korea, China, and Russia jointly participating ▲ open a joint research center for multilateral economic cooperation in Northeast Asia ▲ push for trilateral strategic talks between South Korea, the U.S., and China ▲ look for a denuclearization model indigenous to the Korean Peninsula. 

“In order to assist in improving the human rights and humanitarian situation in North Korea, inter-Korean human rights talks need to be proposed,” the document read. “In the process of South-North integration, a means to deal with North Korean human rights violations from the past must be devised, adopting the idea of ‘transitional justice.’” 

The group also adopted a resolution on human rights in North Korea, urging Pyongyang to accept the resolution currently awaiting formal approval by the U.N. General Assembly, and to take responsibility for protecting the rights of its people.