While Americans would support a military response if North Korea attacked the U.S. or its allies, the public doesn't want the United States to be the first country to make a military strike.
Only 24% would support a military first strike against North Korea, while twice as many (50%) would oppose it -- and that is the general opinion of all demographic groups. And the numbers get even worse when the first strike is done using nuclear weapons. Only 14% would support that, while 63% would oppose it.
The charts show information from a new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between August 13th and 15th of a random national sample of 1,500 adults (including 1,291 registered voters), with a margin of error of 3.1 points.
