The second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Vietnam late last month ended in failure, fueling suspicion over the North’s commitment to denuclearization. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Mar. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — More than 6 in 10 South Korean adults think North Korea will never give up its nuclear weapons, a poll by Gallop Korea said Friday.
The survey of 1,003 adults older than 19, conducted nationwide between Tuesday and Thursday, found 64 percent answered Pyongyang will never abandon its nuclear arsenal.
According to Gallop, 28 percent of the respondents said the North will eventually give up its nuclear weapons, with the remaining 8 percent declining to give an answer.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, with a confidence level of 95 percent.
Compared with a similar poll conducted a year ago, the percentage of South Koreans skeptical of the North’s denuclearization promise decreased by 26 points, while the percentage of respondents convinced about Pyongyang’s abandonment of nuclear weapons increased by 22 points, the pollster said.
The second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Vietnam late last month ended in failure, fueling suspicion over the North’s commitment to denuclearization.
Meanwhile, the public approval rating of President Moon Jae-in fell 3 percentage points from a week ago to 46 percent, Gallop said.
Moon’s supporters cited improved relations with the North (26 percent), hardworking attitude (7 percent) and successful diplomacy (7 percent) among the reasons of their endorsement of the president.
By contrast, Moon’s critics pointed to economic hardships (36 percent), excessive attention to North Korean relations (17 percent) and lack of measures to reduce fine dust (10 percent) among the reasons of their disapproval of him.
The public approval rating of the ruling Democratic Party rose 1 percentage point from a week ago to 39 percent, while that of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party remained unchanged at 20 percent, Gallop said.
(Yonhap)
