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Military Action Against North Korea Likely Soon, Voters Say

Most voters think it’s likely the United States will soon be at war with North Korea.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 63% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the United States is likely to take military action against North Korea in the next six months, with 28% who say it is Very Likely. Twenty-six percent (26%) consider military action against the rogue communist nation unlikely, but that includes just four percent (4%) who think it is Not At All Likely. Eleven percent (11%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Seventy-five percent (75%) agree that North Korea is a vital national security interest for the United States these days. Only 16% disagree. By comparison, 51% view Syria as a vital U.S. national security interest

There is rare partisan agreement on both North Korea questions, although Republicans feel a bit more strongly than Democrats and unaffiliated voters that U.S. military action is Very Likely.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on August 9-10, 2017 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

A month ago, with the North Korean government continuing its threats of nuclear attack on America, 75% of voters said the United Nations and the international community should do more – up to and including military action – to prevent North Korea’s further development of nuclear weapons. Forty-five percent (45%) said the U.S. military should go it alone if necessary.

The younger the voter, the more likely he or she is to expect U.S. military action against North Korea.

Blacks are less likely than whites and other minority voters to view North Korea as a vital national security interest but more likely to see war on the horizon.

Voters who view North Korea as a vital national security interest are only slightly more likely than those who don’t to see military action on the way.

Thirty-eight percent (38%) of voters who Strongly Approve of the job President Trump is doing think U.S. military action against North Korea is Very Likely in the next six months. That view is shared by 27% of those who Strongly Disapprove of the president’s performance.

Thirty-nine percent (39%) of all voters think the new president is doing a good or excellent job handling national security issues, but 47% say he’s doing a poor job instead. President Obama earned slightly higher marks in this area.

Most voters continue to think highly of the U.S. military and feel its primary role is to fight enemies -- not play peacekeeper. But the majority also believe that the U.S. military is stretched too thin these days.

In a survey last September, 69% agreed with former President Ronald Reagan that “the United States should not commit its forces to military action overseas unless the cause is vital of our national security.” 

Fewer voters now think the terrorists have the upper hand in the ongoing War on Terror. 

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on August 9-10, 2017 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.

We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.

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