Majority of Americans support S. Korea's nuclear-powered submarine project: poll

WASHINGTON — Nearly six in 10 Americans support South Korea's project to develop nuclear-powered submarines, a survey showed Thursday, while a strong majority oppose Seoul acquiring nuclear weapons. The survey, conducted jointly by the Washington-based Korea Economic Institute of America and data analytics firm YouGov among 1,207 American adults from Aug. 21-Sept. 1, found that 58 percent supported South Korea's development of nuclear-powered submarines, with 42 percent opposing it. Support was broadly bipartisan, with 56 percent of self-identifying Democrats and 64 percent of Republicans backing the development of the submarines. Among independents, 62 percent expressed support. South Korea is pushing to build conventionally armed, nuclear-propelled submarines following security agreements reached during a summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump in October of last year. Public support for nuclear-powered submarines, however, did not extend into support for South Korea possessing nuclear weapons, with 71 percent of those polled opposing Seoul developing n