What Americans Want To Do About North Korea

Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang have risen sharply this week with Donald Trump warning the regime that any threat to the U.S. will be met with "fire and fury". North Korea apparently responded that it is considering attacking Guam, a major Pacific hub for the U.S. military and its strategic bomber force in particular.

When it comes to solving the escalating crisis, the majority of Americans back sanctions to curb North Korea's nuclear program. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs found that 76 percent of Americans want to impose tighter sanctions on Pyongyang while 68 percent also want to see sanctions imposed on Chinese companies doing business with North Korea.

Given the real threat of retaliation and escalation, military action is a far less popular option. 40 percent of Americans would back airstrikes against the North's nuclear infrastructure and 28 percent would support ground troops destroying its production facilities. One thing is certain: Americans won't accept a nuclear-armed North Korea. 21 percent say they will accept Pyongyang possessing nuclear weapons in exchange for halting production while only 11 percent accept North Korea producing more weapons.