Poll: Nearly two-thirds of South Koreans support independent nuclear armament

SEOUL, Aug. 28 (Yonhap) -- Nearly two-thirds of South Koreans support the idea of their country having its own nuclear weapons, a poll showed Friday.

According to the Gallup Korea poll, 65 percent agreed that South Korea should possess nuclear weapons independently, while 30 percent opposed the idea.

The survey was conducted on 1,001 South Koreans aged 18 and older from Tuesday to Thursday.

By political affiliation, the figure 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 said they believe North Korea could actually start a war, while 55 percent said they did not believe the North posed such a risk.

Among those who said there was no risk, 58 percent still supported the idea of South Korea possessing its own nuclear weapons.

Gallup said the finding suggests that 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 transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) of troops from Washington, 46 percent replied it should be completed during President Lee Jae Myung's term that ends in 2030, while 41 percent said the transfer should be postponed.

Lee has vowed to regain OPCON from the U.S. before his term ends.

The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.