Seoul: Nearly two-thirds of South Koreans support the idea of their country having its own nuclear weapons, a poll showed Friday. According to Yonhap News Agency, 65 percent of respondents agreed that South Korea should possess nuclear weapons independently, while 30 percent opposed the idea.
The survey, conducted by Gallup Korea, involved 1,001 South Koreans aged 18 and older, spanning from Tuesday to Thursday. By political affiliation, the support for nuclear armament stood at 78 percent among supporters of the main opposition People Power Party and 60 percent among supporters of the ruling Democratic Party.
Thirty-nine percent of respondents expressed the belief that North Korea could actually start a war, while 55 percent said they did not perceive the North as posing such a risk. Interestingly, among those who said there was no risk, 58 percent still supported the idea of South Korea possessing its own nuclear weapons.
Gallup Korea noted that the findings suggest a significant number of respondents may view nuclear weapons more as a strategic or self-defensive deterrent than as weapons for actual use. On the issue of transferring wartime operational control (OPCON) of troops from Washington, 46 percent believe it should be completed during President Lee Jae Myung's term, which ends in 2030, while 41 percent said the transfer should be postponed. President Lee has vowed to regain OPCON from the U.S. before his term concludes.
The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.