More than half of Americans worried about Trump's handling of tensions with NK: poll

Published : Apr 14, 2017 - 09:09 Updated : Apr 14, 2017 - 09:57

WASHINGTON -- More than half of Americans are concerned about President Donald Trump's ability to handle tensions with North Korea, a survey showed Thursday.

The CBS News poll, conducted April 7-9, showed that 56 percent described themselves as "uneasy" about Trump's ability to handle the standoff with the North, while 39 percent said they were "confident" in his ability.

(Yonhap)

Confidence levels varied largely along party lines, with 85 percent of Democrats saying they're not confident in Trump's ability, compared with only 20 percent of Republicans, according to the poll.

On the other hand, 78 percent of Republicans expressed confidence in Trump compared with only 12 percent of Democrats, the survey showed.

The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Tensions with North Korea have spiked as the US sent an aircraft carrier strike group to waters off the Korean Peninsula in a show of force designed to warn Pyongyang against provocations amid concern the communist nation could carry out its sixth nuclear test.

The CBS survey illustrates growing concern in the US about North Korea.

Concerns about North Korean nuclear and missile threats have deepened in the US since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un threatened in his New Year's Day address that the country is ready to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile apparently capable of reaching the US. (Yonhap)