If North Korea and Japan went to state of war, more South Koreans would back their firsthand neighbor, a new poll past a country-sponsored think tank in Seoul showed.

The survey, conducted past enquiry fellow Lee Sang Sin, was presented Wed as part of the Korea Institute for National Unification'due south 11th annual Peace Forum. Lee set up out to determine the views of S Koreans at a critical juncture in Northeast Asia's ability dynamics, and found they would more readily back up longtime rival North korea than fellow U.Southward. marry Japan should a conflict suspension out betwixt the two.

"Under a rather extreme hypothetical situation in which war may break out betwixt North Korea and Nihon, 45.v per centum would cull to assist North korea, and 15.1 percent Japan," the survey, which was obtained by Newsweek, showed. "39.iv percent reply that they have no idea."

Lee as well institute that responses did non vary much by political party, with the correct-wing Liberty Korea Party merely slightly more decided on assisting either Nihon or North korea. Lee told Newsweek that the results were "non so surprising" for those following the trend in inter-Korean relations.

north south korea military border dmz
A North Korean soldier (L) shakes easily with a Southward Korean soldier during a common on-site verification of the withdrawal of guard posts forth the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on December 12, 2018. The two Koreas destroyed guard posts and removed a number of mines along the heavily-fortified border every bit part of their peace process. South Korean Defense Ministry/Getty Images

While the past 7 decades take been largely marked past hostility between the ii Koreas, the 2 were jointly occupied by Japan for much of the offset half of the 20th century. It was only afterwards the Centrolineal victory in World War Ii and the dual accelerate of Common cold State of war adversaries the U.Due south. and the Soviet Union that the Korean Peninsula was divided along opposing ideological lines.

The bloody, iii-year war that followed has technically never ended considering only an armistice brought a abeyance of hostilities. In the 21st century, a number of attempts have been made to span the seemingly impossible gap between Seoul and Pyongyang, led now past tertiary-generation supreme leader Kim Jong Un, who has overseen a historic era in inter-Korean diplomacy.

The young ruler has held a record three summits aslope S Korean President Moon Jae-in, an eager proponent of improving neighborly ties. Kim likewise became the start Due north Korean caput to meet with a sitting U.S. leader, sitting down with President Donald Trump 3 times, the last of which also included Moon at a landmark border session.

Though still reviled by critics due to persistent allegations of human being rights abuses and authoritarianism, Kim has established himself as a key regional player, coming together besides with Chinese President Eleven Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has specially sought, however, to channel support from across the border, where vast political differences but cut and so deep in the face of a shared civilisation and history—particularly when it came to the sometime foe Japan.

"For South Koreans, North Korea is similar a troublemaker in the family, a blackness sheep," Lee told Newsweek. "We hate and despise North Korea, but at the aforementioned time, we don't want to see North Korea browbeaten down by other countries."

"Similarly, whenever South Korea has a territorial dispute about Dokdo with Japan, North korea has sided with Republic of korea," he added.

south korea north japan war support poll
The results of a survey released Nov 6 by the Seoul-baed Korea Found for National Unification'due south Lee Sang Sin shows the results of an "farthermost hypothetical state of affairs" in which Southward Koreans were asked if they would support Democratic people's republic of korea or Nippon in the event of a war between the two regional powers. Korea Institute of National Unification

Dokdo is the Korean name for what the Japanese call Takeshima, a prepare of islets controlled past Republic of korea and known in English every bit Liancourt Rocks. Even the sea around them is disputed, with the two Koreas using the term the East Sea and Japan saying the Body of water of Japan.

The contested landmass came at the forefront of an ongoing row between Seoul and Tokyo regarding the latter's treatment of Koreans during World War II. Due south Korea has argued for compensation from Japanese companies due to their use of forced labor from Asian colonies during this menstruation, while Nihon considers the thing regarding what it deems "requisitioned" labor settled by their 1965 Basic Relations Treaty that also dealt with the issue of and so-called "comfort women."

As this feud worsened, a articulation Russian-Chinese patrol neared the Liancourt Rocks, with a Russian spy plane defendant of crossing the purlieus, and both South Korean and Japan scrambling their jets in response. Both Tokyo and Seoul claimed the sectional right to respond and, as their ties further deteriorated, Japan imposed new trade restrictions on South Korea, which then quit an intelligence-sharing pact.

"This is one of the worst phases in the history of our relationship since the normalization of relations," one Japanese Foreign Ministry official recently told Newsweek as Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's assistants carefully monitored both U.S. and Republic of korea'southward outreach to Democratic people's republic of korea.

A North Korean Strange Ministry spokesperson cited last month by the Korean Key News Agency as well warned that Pyongyang and Tokyo's relations had reached "the worst phase." Abe and Kim have even so to concur a direct coming together.

japan abe south korea moon g20
South Korean President Moon Jae-In is welcomed by Japanese Prime Government minister Shinzo Abe earlier a family photo session at the G20 summit on June 28 in Osaka, Japan. Ties betwixt the ii U.S. Asia-Pacific allies reached a critical low this year, simply have stabilized subsequently a contempo meeting betwixt the two men whose nations have a troubled history. Kim Kyung-hoon/Getty Images

North korea has meanwhile embarked on new months-long series of missile tests in response to joint U.Due south.-Southward Korean exercises and stalled denuclearization-for-peace talks, which go on despite setbacks. Though the launches have been met with tepid reactions past the ii nations in comparison to harsh condemnations from Japan, toward which many of these weapons take been fired.

Pyongyang has continued to urge Seoul to distance itself from Tokyo, as well equally Washington, in order to foster a Korea-commencement agenda according to the Uriminzokkiri—roughly "by our nation itself"—opinion on reunification. While Moon and Abe recently met in a bid to opposite their downwards spiral in relations, Kim'due south regime has sought to go on driving them apart past pinning its newfound military reforms to its regal past.

"Japan preoccupied with militarism is the real enemy of humanity and a unsafe enemy state which thrusts its ambitious claws into space to be used for progress and prosperity of mankind," the Korean Primal News Agency wrote in a commentary published Tuesday.

"The international order will never pardon the criminal acts of the Japanese reactionaries making desperate efforts to inflict a serious disaster upon humanity," information technology added.

For the survey, chosen "The Situation in Northeast Asia and Southward Koreans' Perception", Lee interviewed 1,000 participants in person in three phases—in 2018 from April v and April 25, in 2019 from April 5 to Apr 25, and September 17 to October 8. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent at a 95 percent conviction level.