Over 70% Of South Koreans Support Independent Development Of Country's Nuclear Arms - Poll

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th January, 2023) As many as of 76.6% South Korean citizens believe that the country needs to independently develop nuclear weapons, given a military threat posed by North Korea and a lack of trust in the denuclearization negotiations, the Yonhap news agency reported on Monday, citing a Gallup Korea poll.

In addition, 72.4% of respondents made positive assessments of South Korea's capability in developing its own nuclear arms, according to the poll commissioned by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, where NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg delivered a lecture earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, North Korea's denuclearization is considered "impossible" by 77.6% of those polled, while 78.6% believe Pyongyang is likely to conduct its seventh nuclear test, according to Yonhap.

A total of 64.1% of South Koreans also think that China will not provide real assistance to Pyongyang's denuclearization and 55.1% said that Beijing would become an obstacle to this.

At the same time, only 51.3% of respondents said that the United States would indeed demonstrate expanded deterrence to protect Seoul in case of unforeseen circumstances on the Korean Peninsula, the poll showed.

The survey was conducted among 1,000 adults from November 28 to December 16, 2022 through in-person interviews, the news agency reported. Confidence interval values were not specified.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula became more tense in December 2022, as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the development of a new intercontinental ballistic missile system to conduct a quick nuclear retaliatory strike. He also alleged that the US, under the pretext of strengthening cooperation with South Korea and Japan, was creating an "Asian version of NATO." Seoul, in turn, said that measures announced by Pyongyang were "absurd" and would only worsen the situation.