POHANG, South Korea (AP) — The Associated Press spoke with dozens of South Koreans for a detailed look at the nation’s stark division in views about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s aggressive pursuit of nuclear-tipped missiles targeting the South and its major ally and protector, the United States.
How South Korea sees its northern rival is a famously complicated subject, split along deep societal fault lines: Age, wealth, politics, status, history, sex.
The result is that some see little danger in North Korea’s threatening rhetoric, weapons tests and aggressive military maneuvers — and some are stocking bunkers with goods meant to get them through a nuclear strike.
Here are some key takeaways from the AP examination of South Korea’s unique, fragmented perception of its biggest enemy and closest neighbor, North Korea.