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영어

In the middle of the DPRK’s nuclear crisis, this three-year longitudinal survey research undertaken in the State of Hawaii, USA, traces change and continuity in American public opinion about the DPRK’s nuclear weapons program. Using the comparative method and statistical analyses, this paper investigated how differing ethnic backgrounds, political attitudes, and political partisanships influenced the American public’s evaluation of North Korea’s nuclear program. The research produced several notable findings. Older people, lower educational background, conservative, and Republican Party identification groups tend to see North Korea’s nuclear weapons program as a more serious threat. The majority of respondents replied that North Korea is pursuing a nuclear weapons program, to either enhance its national prestige or in the interests of its national security.
Regarding the perennial controversy on United States Forces in Korea’s role in South Korea, almost the majority of respondents tend to believe the presence of the USFK will increase tension between North and South Korea. Respondents who identify with liberals and Democrats tended to support the withdrawal of USFK, while a substantial portion of conservatives and Republican did not. On the question of a desirable settlement of the DPRK’s nuclear crisis, about two-thirds of respondents support a positive approach to resolving the crisis – peaceful resolution, while less than a quarter support a confrontational approach, such as economic sanctions and bombing nuclear facilities.