A Japan-U.S. joint opinion survey has found that nearly 50% of Japanese people disapprove of the United States' foreign policy -- which has been stagnating of late -- toward North Korea.
In February, U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held their second summit but failed to reach an agreement on the denuclearization of Pyongyang.
In June, the third summit was held in Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) on the border of both Koreas, and U.S.-North Korea working-level talks were held in October although there is currently no prospect of the dialogue to be resumed.
As North Korea's end-of-December deadline for denuclearization talks with the United States approaches, Pyongyang has been behaving provocatively, for example by conducting an intercontinental ballistic missile test.
The poll was organized by The Yomiuri Shimbun and the Gallup Organization.
In the poll, 48% disapproved Trump's handling of relations with North Korea, up 10 percentage points from the previous poll, and overtaking those who approved it at 40%, down from 49%.
Looking at the respondents by party affiliation, 59% of opposition supporters said they disapproved Trump's handling of the matter, as did 51% of the nonaffiliated. Even among the ruling coalition voters, those who approved it and those who did not were very close at 45% and 43%, respectively.
On the other hand in the United States, 50% of all respondents said they approved of Trump's policy regarding diplomacy toward North Korea, up from 48% in the previous survey, while 47% said they disapproved, slightly up from 46% last time.
Opinions of the U.S. respondents were split depending on party affiliation. The approval rate set by Republican supporters remained high at 89%, up from 87% in the previous poll, while the disapproval rate set by Democrat supporters surged to 91% from the previous 82%.
The poll found a clear difference in opinion between the Japanese and U.S. respondents regarding their awareness about North Korea's denuclearization and the threat from the country's missiles and nuclear weapons.
In Japan, respondents with the pessimistic view that it is impossible to realize total denuclearization of North Korea in the near future increased from 89% to 95%. The rate increased in the United States, too, from 52% to 58%, but those who don't think so remained at 38%, down from 42%.
In Japan, 58% of respondents said they felt North Korea's nuclear weapons and missiles are a great threat to their nation, whereas 29% of U.S. respondents said they felt the same way. Those who see them as somewhat of a threat were at 26% in Japan and 46% in the United States.
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