Nearly 70 pct of South Koreans agree on need to declare formal end to Korean War: poll

SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- A majority of South Koreans agree on the need to declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, as proposed by President Moon Jae-in, a survey showed Wednesday.

According to survey of 1,000 adults by the National Unification Advisory Council on Sept. 24 and 25, 67.8 percent said the end-of-war declaration was necessary. Among them, 41.7 percent replied the declaration was "very necessary," while 26.1 percent said it was "necessary to an extent."

Meanwhile, 29.4 percent of the respondents said the declaration was not necessary.

During his U.N. General Assembly speech last week, Moon proposed the two Koreas and the United States, possibly joined by China, declare a formal end to the 1950-53 war, saying it will mark a pivotal point of departure in creating a new order of reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula.

The two Koreas are still technically at war, as the Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

In the same survey, 54.2 percent replied denuclearization talks between the U.S. and North Korea were unlikely to restart within this year.

Over 60 percent of the respondents also agreed on the need to partially ease sanctions against the North before resuming nuclear talks in consideration of the challenges facing the country, including public health and the global pandemic.

The poll had a margin of error of 3.1 points and a 95 percent confidence level.

julesyi@yna.co.kr
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