Poll: Most say US should deploy troops if North Korea attacks South

A majority of Americans say the U.S. military should defend South Korea if North Korea attacks, according to a new poll released Monday.

It’s the first time that more than half of Americans say troops should be deployed to help South Korea, according to the survey done by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, which has been polling the issue since 1990.

Sixty-two percent of respondents said they support military action against North Korea if it attacks the South, up from 47 percent in 2015.

{mosads}Both Democrats and Republicans show similar support for increasing sanctions against North Korea, with 84 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Democrats approving of them.

Sixty-eight percent of respondents also back sanctioning Chinese banks that do business with North Korea.

A growing number of Americans view North Korea as a severe threat, with 75 percent labeling their concerns as “critical.” It’s a 15-point increase since last year and a 20-point growth from 2015.

On Saturday, the United Nations Security Council approved sanctions on North Korea as a result of their growing ballistic missile testing. President Trump and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley praised the sanctions and expressed appreciation for China supporting the sanctions.

Trump also signed sanctions against North Korea, Russia and Iran on Wednesday as part of legislation that limits his ability to lift the sanctions himself.

The poll sampled 2,020 adults nationwide between June 27 and July 19 and had a margin of error of 2.4 percentage points.