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| North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks in a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, Thursday. A survey released by a think tank operating under broadcaster KBS showed, Monday, 74.5 percent of South Koreans have animosity toward the North Korean regime. / Yonhap |
By Yi Whan-woo
More than seven out of 10 South Koreans are against the North Korean regime, reflecting chilled inter-Korean relations despite President Moon Jae-in's efforts to resume cross-border cooperation, according to a survey released Monday.
The poll conducted by a think tank operating under broadcaster KBS also showed almost six out of 10 South Koreans find the United States, China, Japan and Russia not helpful in fostering unification of the two Koreas.
The survey came as the North continues to give the cold shoulder to the South's reconciliatory gestures, as seen from its demolition of a joint liaison office in the North's border town of Gaeseong in June and refusal to accept humanitarian assistance following recent flood damage.
Some 74.5 percent of the respondents said they do not support the North, while 21.4 percent were ambivalent. The remaining 4.1 percent of respondents held favorable sentiment to the regime.
The ratio of negative response has increased from a survey conducted by the think tank with the same questions last August when 51.6 percent expressed hostility.
When asked which of the four stakeholders of the Korean Peninsula ― United States, China, Japan and Russia ― can be most helpful for unification, 59 percent of the respondents answered "none," while 29.8 percent indicated the U.S. as helpful.
"It appears the expectation toward the U.S. has diminished after the breakdown of the Pyongyang-Washington summit in Hanoi in February 2019 and the deadlock on inter-Korean cooperation accordingly," a think tank researcher said.
Concerning unification, only 15.4 percent said it was desirable and 44.2 percent supported the idea with a precondition that the unification should not bring any heavy burden to the South while 24.3 percent agreed the division of the Korean Peninsula should be maintained for a significant amount of time.
Asked about President Moon's inter-Korean policy, 51.5 percent of the respondents expressed disapproval.
The survey of 1,000 adults nationwide took place online from July 31 to Aug. 4. It had a 3.1 percent margin of error.
