[imText1]A survey showed that 9 out of every 10 South Koreans are concerned about the diplomacy and security system of the Roh Moo Hyun administration. On the 13th, Maeil Business Newspaper reported that 65% of people think that the N. Korea missile test is a serious matter.
The survey, conducted by Embrain, an online survey company with 95% reliability, examined the opinions of 312 adults over 20 years old for three days, beginning from the 7th of June.
Regarding the Roh Moo Hyun administration’s diplomacy and security system, 59.9% of respondents answered that they were “very concerned”, and 31.1% were “somewhat concerned”, leading to an overall total of 90% who feel concerned about the present situation.
Those who answered that they were “Not at all, or only a little concerned” totaled only 3.9%, with only 5.1% saying that they found the situation “acceptable”.
In regard to the N.Korean missile test, those feeling “very or somewhat concerned” were only 51.3% and 13.8%, respectively, illustrating that over half of the people consider it a serious event.
It also illustrated, however, that despite the N.Korean missile launches, people remain somewhat unconcerned about national security.
Regarding the question of whether or not it is “acceptable for North Korea to develop missiles”, 26.3% of respondents answered in the affirmative, and 19.6% answered “do not know”, amounting to 45.9%. 54.2% disagreed.
In regard to why North Korea may have launched its missiles, most of the respondent said it was a politically based action.
About half of them said it was used as the “brinkmanship to leverage U.S.-North Korea negotiations”, and 42.6% said it was used as a tool to threaten the U.S. Only 5.4% agreed with the North’s claim that it was for “military training”.
Those that believed the government should strongly respond to the N.Korean missile tests by declaring the suspension of additional rice and fertilizer aids accounts for 61.2%. On the other hand, those believing that the government “should keep aiding” and should “completely stop aiding” were 20.8% and 17.9%, respectively.
