Nearly 73% of South Koreans want country to develop nuclear weapons: Poll

Around 73% of South Koreans think their country should develop a nuclear arsenal, a recent survey found.

According to the poll, which was conducted by Gallup Korea and commissioned by the Seoul-based Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, 72.8% or approximately three-quarters of those surveyed said they support South Korea having nuclear weapons when asked about their opinions on their country's development of an atomic arsenal.

Chey Institute President Park In-kook said the survey results came against the backdrop of arch-rival North Korea's latest military build-ups and a recent constitutional amendment that gave South Korea's military the right to carry out "deterrent nuclear attacks."

In a 2022 survey conducted by Gallup, 60.7% of the participants noted that their country "needs to some extent" to develop its own nuclear weapons, while 15.9% thought it "needs it very much."