There are counterexamples. One is given in another question on this site, Example of Intersection of Pure Subgroup which is not Pure. As Jack Schmidt points out in a comment, an example is given by $G=\mathbb{Z}_2\oplus\mathbb{Z}_8$, $N=\langle (1,1)\rangle$, and $U=\langle (0,1)\rangle$. Then $G$ is the direct sum of $N$ and $\langle (1,4)\rangle$, and of $U$ and $\langle(1,0)\rangle$. The intersection is $\langle(0,2)\rangle\cong\mathbb{Z}_4$, which is not a direct summand of $G$ because $G$ is not isomorphic to $\mathbb{Z}_4\oplus\mathbb{Z}_4$ or to $\mathbb{Z}_2\oplus\mathbb{Z}_2\oplus\mathbb{Z}_4$. The group generated by $N$ and $U$ is $G$ because it contains $(0,1)$ and $(1,0)=(1,1)-(0,1)$.