Americans now consider North Korea greater threat than IS

WASHINGTON - American voters consider North Korea a greater threat to national security than the militant group Islamic State, a survey showed Wednesday, amid heightened concern in the U.S. in the wake of the North’s test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

According to the joint survey by Morning Consult and Politico, 40 percent of a total of 1,983 registered voters surveyed in the July 7-9 poll picked the North as the top threat to the U.S., followed by the IS with 30 percent and Russia with 16 percent.

The survey was conducted just three days after the North successfully carried out its first ICBM test. Experts say the North’s missile is now believed to be capable of reaching Alaska and it’s a matter of time for the regime to make the missile capable of striking the continental United States with a nuclear warhead.

About 83 percent of the respondents said they have heard, read or seen about the North’s missile test.

Older respondents were more likely to see the North as a top threat, with about 50 percent of those aged 65 or over picking the regime, compared with 30 percent of those aged 18-29, and 36 percent of the respondents aged 30-44, according to the survey.

As for a solution, 49 percent said they support air strikes against military targets and suspected nuclear sites in North Korea, while one in three voters said they would back sending ground troops as part of an effort to take control of the country, the poll showed.

Asked about diplomatic efforts and pressure, 78 percent said they support continuing diplomatic efforts to get the North to suspend its nuclear weapons program and 75 percent said they support additional sanctions against the regime.

About half of the respondents said they have a lot or some confidence in U.S. President Donald Trump to handle the threats from the North while 44 percent said they didn’t have much or any faith in his ability to do so, the survey showed.

Yonhap