Half of South Koreans believe that the United States and North Korea will not reach an agreement on the issues of denuclearization and the lifting of economic sanctions, a poll released Sunday showed.

According to the Korea Society Opinion Institute poll of 1,008 adults nationwide, 50 percent said that the U.S. and North Korea will not reach an understanding on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the lifting of sanctions on Pyongyang since they have considerable differences on the issue. The negative public views on the U.S.-North Korea negotiations increased 12.3 percentage points from the previous month.

And 45.6 percent answered that the two sides will reach a deal through negotiations, which was down 17 percentage points from the survey in February. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, with a confidence level of 95 percent.

Asked about preferred ways of handling the denuclearization process and sanctions lifting, 40.2 percent said that the strictures imposed on Kim Jong-un‘s regime should be eased step-by-step to correspond with North Korea’s denuclearization moves. The poll showed 37 percent supporting the maintenance of current sanctions until North Korea completely dismantles its nuclear weapons program.

For South Korean politics, 52.3 percent of respondents said they approve of President Moon Jae-in‘s job in managing state affairs, which was down 2.5 percentage points from the previous month. (Yonhap)