March 13, 2023 - The Japan Times japantimes.co.jp - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from japantimes.co.jp Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A North Korean defector, now a prominent South Korean lawmaker, is adding his voice to the growing push for Seoul to seek its own nuclear weapons arsenal, saying the U.S. nuclear umbrella and mutual defense treaty no longer provide dependable protection against the threat from Pyongyang.
A survey conducted by Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun and South Korea’s Hankook Ilbo showed that 73 percent of respondents believe China might take military action against Taiwan.
The survey, which was released on Thursday, also asked about the relationship between Japan and South Korea, with 31 percent of respondents in Japan saying the relationship would improve, up from 14 percent last year, while 53 percent of respondents in South Korea thought the same, up from 29 percent last year.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s People Power Party has said it wants to mend the South Korea-Japan relationship.
Although the percentage of respondents who expect