unification-poll

▲ This file photo, provided by Yonhap News TV, shows South Korean soldiers on guard duty at the border with North Korea. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- Less than 40 percent of South Koreans view unification with North Korea as necessary, a poll showed Monday, with younger people far less supportive.

According to the poll commissioned by Seoul National University's Institute for Peace and Unification Studies, 39 percent of respondents said unification is necessary, down from 41.1 percent last year.

The poll showed that 32.2 percent of respondents viewed unification as not necessary, up from 30.4 percent last year, and more than double from 15.1 percent in 2007, when the institute first conducted the survey.

Among those in their 20s and 30s, 25.2 percent and 27 percent, respectively, said unification is necessary, while 44.8 percent and 47 percent in the respective age groups said it is not.

The poll also showed that 39.1 percent of respondents believed unification is impossible, the highest figure since 2007. It found a record 31.5 percent saying they prefer the status quo of the Koreas being divided.

Distrust toward North Korea increased, with 78.3 percent saying that dialogue and compromise with the North Korean regime is impossible, up from last year's 66.5 percent.

The poll showed that a record 83.3 percent believed the North Korean regime would not want unification, while 90.4 percent said North Korea would not give up nukes.

It also found that a record 61.1 percent supported South Korea's own nuclear armament, up from last year's 51.8 percent.

The institute, however, noted the result should not be interpreted as accounting for the costs or diplomatic pressure that would result from the move.

This year's poll was conducted by Gallup Korea on 1,200 adults from July 1 to 26, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.

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