80 percent of S. Koreans believe N. Korea won't abandon nuclear weapons: survey

Eight out of 10 South Koreans believe North Korea will not abandon its nuclear weapons, a survey showed Monday.

In the poll conducted by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), 81.7 percent said they felt North Korea will not give up its nuclear weapons program. Only 14.7 percent said it is highly likely that the North will stop its nuclear weapons activity.

The survey was conducted from Nov. 3 to 17 last year on 1,017 South Koreans at least 19 years old.

North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests and has claimed its nuclear power serves as a deterrent against the hostile policy of the U.S. The six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing North Korea have been stalled for more than three years. The participants -- the two Koreas, the U.S., Russia, Japan and China -- have recently engaged in a flurry of diplomatic efforts to revive the talks.

Also in the KIDA survey, about 82 percent said a full-out war between the Koreas was unlikely, but 46 percent said they feared the divided neighbors could have some sort of a clash.

A little more than 50 percent of the polled said the security situation on the Korean Peninsula is unstable. Of the reasons contributing to the instability, the North Korean military threat topped the list at 48.1 percent, followed by uncertainty in the North Korean regime at 43.6 percent.

About 70 percent picked North Korea as the country presenting the biggest threat to South Korea, and 47.3 percent said North Korea will remain a major security threat 10 years from now, according to the KIDA. (Yonhap News)