| A photo showing North Korea's missile launch is displayed at the Unification Observation Post in Paju near the inter-Korean border, Jan. 27. More than 76 percent of people in South Korea support the idea of arming their country with nuclear weapons to counter growing security threats from North Korea, a new study showed Monday. AP-Yonhap |
Survey suggests widespread skepticism over denuclearization of North Korea
By Jung Min-ho
Over 76 percent of people in South Korea support the idea of arming their country with its own nuclear weapons to counter growing security threats from North Korea, a new study showed.
According to the results of a survey released Monday by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, a think tank, 60.7 percent of the respondents said they believe their country is somewhat in need of developing its own nuclear weapons, while 15.9 percent said it is very much in need.
Only 3.1 percent said the country is in no need of such weapons, while 20.3 percent said the need is low.
The level of approval measured for nuclear weapons is higher than the numbers shown in other studies in recent years, including a survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (71 percent) and another one by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies (70.2 percent).
The latest research conducted by Gallup Korea between Nov. 28 and Dec. 26, based on one-on-one interviews with 1,000 people, shows that there is widespread skepticism over the possibility of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
While 56.4 percent of respondents said they think the denuclearization of North Korea is impossible, 21.2 percent said it is nearly impossible. Only 1.9 percent said it is very likely.
| Graphic by Cho Sang-won |
Intelligence agencies in Seoul and Washington say North Korea has completed preparations for its first nuclear weapons test since 2017. Nearly 79 percent of the respondents said they believe the North will proceed with the test.
In recent years, North Korea stepped up efforts to develop long-range nuclear weapons to undermine joint U.S.-South Korean defense systems. Asked whether they think the U.S. would be willing to take the risk of a nuclear war with the North to protect the South, 51.3 percent of respondents said that they somewhat or strongly believe so.
The study also shows a high approval rating of 71.9 percent for trilateral security cooperation (with the U.S. and Japan). This comes despite more than half of the respondents seeing Japan unfavorably, possibly due to diplomatic friction over the renewed wartime forced labor issue that occurred during Japan's colonial rule over the peninsula (1910-45).
| Park In-kook, president of the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, speaks during a media conference at the Press Center in central Seoul, Monday. Yonhap |
The new Cold War climate that is forming, highlighted by Moscow's war in Ukraine and China and Russia's refusal to impose more sanctions on North Korea at the U.N Security Council, may have affected the South Korean public's opinion toward more defense cooperation with Japan, said Park In-kook, president of the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies.
“The threats from North Korea have become ever more real, and news about Russia's war in Ukraine have raised fears of nuclear wars,” Park said. “After years of cooperation at the U.N. Security Council, China and Russia started in 2022 to veto attempts to sanction the North for its weapons tests.”
More than 64 percent of the respondents said they believe Beijing would make little or no contribution to the denuclearization of North Korea, with over half (55.1 percent) viewing China as a threat rather than a helpful country (10.2 percent) regarding the reunification of the two Koreas.
Earlier this month, President Yoon Suk Yeol said he would not rule out the possibility of the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea or developing its own nuclear weapons.
The bipartisan support for the idea ― exceeding the current approval rating of the president (lower than 40 percent) ― may pressure the government to take steps to materialize it if the North continues to raise tensions with its weapons tests, Park said.
Park, who attended several Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) meetings while working in the government, also said South Korea would be able to leave the pact legally if it wished to, given the serious, tangible level of threats posed by North Korea. Article 10 of the NPT allows members to withdraw if adherence to the treaty threatens a member's security.