More South Koreans are viewing North Korea as a country to cooperate with or to support, apparently affected by the recent mood of inter-Korean reconciliation.

The National Unification Advisory Council, a presidential advisory organ, commissioned a phone survey with a polling agency which was conducted on one-thousand adults nationwide from Thursday to Sunday.

Announcing the results, the council said Tuesday that half of respondents considered North Korea in terms of cooperation or provision of support, or much higher than the over 32 percent who viewed the North with hostility or caution.

The positive response has increased by ten percentage points from just under 40 percent in the previous quarter, and is the highest since 52 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2015. 

Regarding prospects of cross-border relations, 62 percent of the surveyed were optimistic, up 23 percentages points from the previous quarter.

The advisory council said that positive forecasts have sharply increased amid the restoration of inter-Korean relations and resumption of dialogue that was propelled by the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. 

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