South Korean support for nuclear armament nears 70% amid North Korean threat

Seven in 10 South Koreans support the country possessing its own nuclear weapons as North Korea continues to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities and poses a growing threat, a survey showed Tuesday.

A total of 69.1 percent of survey respondents said they "support South Korea possessing nuclear weapons if the North Korean nuclear threat persists," up 1.6 percentage points from 67.5 percent last year. The East Asia Institute (EAI) commissioned Hankook Research to survey 1,547 adults nationwide on July 20 and 21.

Those opposed accounted for 19.6 percent, down from 21.1 percent, during the same period.

Public support for South Korea developing its own nuclear weapons has generally remained at or above the mid-60 percent range in recent years. Support for nuclear armament stood at 69.6 percent in an EAI survey in 2022, when North Korea carried out a series of ballistic missile provocations.

Support for the idea fell to 58.5 percent in 2023 after South Korean and U.S. leaders issued the Washington Declaration, which included measures to strengthen extended deterrence against North Korea.

The figure then rebounded to 71.4 percent in 2024 as ties between North Korea and Russia deepened. The figure fell to 67.5 percent in 2025 but rose again to 69.1 percent this year. The figures show that support for nuclear armament has remained around the level seen four years ago, when North Korea was rapidly building up its military capabilities through intensive missile test launches.

The sentiment appears to have been influenced by North Korea's continuing nuclear and missile threats and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's shift in policy toward South Korea after defining inter-Korean ties as relations between "two hostile states" and no longer a relationship between compatriots during the meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party in December 2023. Kim also called to accelerate preparations to pacify the entire territory of South Korea in the event of an emergency by mobilizing all means and capabilities, including nuclear forces, during the meeting. It was the first time Kim had directly linked the use of nuclear forces to pacifying the entire territory of South Korea.

A total of 88.4 percent of respondents identified North Korea as a country or region considered a military threat to South Korea in the latest EAI survey, which allowed multiple responses. The figure was down from 91.3 percent last year, but has consistently remained above 80 percent since 2020 by an overwhelming margin.

North Korea's accelerating modernization of conventional forces directly targeting Korea, in addition to its existing drive to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities, is cited as one of the factors behind such threat perceptions. North Korea enacted a nuclear forces policy law in 2022, establishing a legal basis for the pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons under certain conditions. It thus went beyond threatening rhetoric about the possible use of nuclear weapons and enshrined that possibility in law.

Kim warned that enemies “within the 420-kilometer [260-mile] striking range” would feel “uneasiness” and gain “a deep understanding of the destructive power of tactical nuclear weapons" while observing a live-fire strike drill by the Korean People's Army in March. Kim's direct references to a “420-kilometer range” and “tactical nuclear weapons” were interpreted as an attempt to demonstrate that the weapon places South Korea within its range and can be used as a delivery system for tactical nuclear weapons.

Perceptions of military threats from China and Russia also increased.

China was identified as a military threat to Korea by 78.9 percent of respondents and Russia by 51.1 percent. Those figures were up from 73 percent for China and 49.4 percent for Russia last year. Those perceptions also appear to coincide with China and Russia recently strengthening relations with North Korea through a series of high-level talks.

BY SPECIAL REPORTING TEAM [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]