Americans Remain Positive on South Korea

Meanwhile, about half say North Korea's nuclear program is a critical threat.

The US alliance with South Korea remains one of the most important in the world. From North Korea’s expanding weapons programs to US competition with China, South Korea is a key partner in US foreign policy planning. The 2024 Chicago Council Survey makes clear that the American public largely understands the value of that relationship.

Key Findings

• Seven in 10 Americans (69%) say the US security relationship with South Korea does more to strengthen US national security versus 26 percent that say it does more to weaken US national security. That consensus is strongly bipartisan.

• Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) support long-term military bases in South Korea. This is among the highest support for bases anywhere in the world, virtually tied with support for bases in Japan (62%) and Germany (64%). Both Republicans and Democrats are in agreement.

• Half of Americans (52%) say that North Korea’s nuclear program is a critical threat facing the United States, putting it on par with those that say Iran’s nuclear program is a critical threat (51%). Views on North Korea have remained largely unchanged since 2020 when 51 percent said it was a critical threat. Weakening democracy in the United States is the top critical threat (67%) in 2024.1

• A bare majority (51%) favor the use of US troops to defend South Korea in North Korea invaded South Korea. This is virtually unchanged from 2023 but is down 12 percentage points from 2021, when it was 63 percent. With the perceived threat of North Korea down from previous years and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, Americans likely feel the need to focus on existing conflicts.

• 1For full results of items shown in chart, please see Appendix.