hankyoreh

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un cross the military demarcation line (MDL) ahead of their first summit Panmunjom on Apr. 27. (photo pool)

Sixty-four percent of South Koreans agree that North Korean sanctions should be loosened as a way of bringing about the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, survey results show.

The National Unification Advisory Council (NUAC) announced the findings on Nov. 27 from a fourth-quarter survey of national opinion on reunification, which was conducted on Nov. 23–25 through telephone interviews with 1,000 adult South Korean women and men nationwide. The results showed 61% of respondents holding positive views of the implementation of an inter-Korean military agreement for the withdrawal of front-line guard posts and demilitarization of the Joint Security Area (JSA), which they predicted would contribute to reducing tensions and building peace between South and North. Another 34.9% of respondents predicted the measures would “not make a contribution.”

According to 60.1% of respondents, a reciprocal visit to Seoul by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was seen as likely to have a positive impact on denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Another 36.9% said the visit would “not have a positive impact.” In terms of areas requiring the greatest emphasis in inter-Korean cooperation for the sake of peace and prosperity on the peninsula, the most frequently named was the building of railways, roads, ports, and other infrastructure (33.9%), followed by economic cooperation (32.8%), public health/healthcare cooperation (8.8%), agricultural cooperation (6.6%), tourism cooperation (5.8%), and forestry cooperation (1.5%).

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]