Animosity between Koreas rises

By Jun Ji-hye

South and North Korea have became more hostile toward each other since two tense incidents in 2010 ― the sinking of the warship Cheonan and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island by the North, according to a recent survey released Wednesday.

Some 15.4 percent of North Korean defectors in 2011 said Pyongyang’s stance on Seoul is hostile, up from 15.2 percent in 2010. The South’s animosity toward the North increased much higher from 12 percent to 17 percent during the same period, according to the poll conducted by Seoul National University’s Institute for Peace and Unification Studies.

Fifty five percent of North Korean defectors responded that they are worried about Seoul’s armed provocation, while 68.9 percent of South Korean citizens said they think there is a possibility for the North to use military force. Although the figures fell slightly compared to the year before by 5.5 percent and 9.4 percent respectively, there is no doubt that the public fear of armed attack remains high.

Kim Byung-ro, a research professor of the Institute, said in an interview with Yonhap that “The sense of animosity has permeated into the people of two Koreas amid lingering tension between them in the wake of the incidents of warship Cheonan and Yeonpyeong Island.”

Between Apr. 2 and June 2, the institute surveyed 127 North Korean defectors (56 males and 71 females), who entered South Korea in 2011 and researched South Koreans’ perception of the North based on a survey of 1,200 people conducted by Gallup in July 2011.