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Americans picks N. Korea as their greatest enemy nation

February 23, 2016
The Week That Was In Asia Photo Gallery

FILE — In this Jan. 3, 2015 photo, Korean magazine Sisa Journal with caricatures of U.S. President Barack Obama, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is displayed at a book store in Seoul, South Korea. (AP / Ahn Young-joon)

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) — Americans consider North Korea their greatest enemy country, a survey showed Tuesday, the first time in 11 years that the communist nation has topped the list.

About 16 percent of the respondents in the Gallup survey picked the North when asked which one country they consider the United States’ greatest enemy today, followed by Russia with 15 percent, Iran with 14 percent and China with 12 percent.

Some 5 percent of the respondents picked countries where the militant group Islamic State operate.

The poll surveyed 1,021 adults from Feb. 3-7.

The survey came amid heightened tensions over the North’s fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and its long-range missile launch on Feb. 7. It marked the first time since 2005 that the North has been picked as the biggest enemy in the annual survey.

Last year’s poll put Russia atop the list with 18 percent, followed by the North with 15 percent and China with 12 percent.

In this year’s survey, only 8 percent of the respondents said they have a favorable view of the North, the lowest level since 2001.