Just How Scared Are Americans Of North Korea?

Growing tensions between Washington and Pyongyang escalated dramatically on Thursday with North Korea laying out plans to target the American island territory of Guam in a missile strike. News reports have shown intercontinental ballistic missiles being tested that have the potential to reach the continental U.S. while intelligence sources believe the regime has now managed to miniaturize a nuclear weapon to fit one of those missiles.

A CNN poll has now revealed that increasing numbers of Americans are becoming concerned by the threat presented by Pyongyang. Nearly two-thirds of those polled, 62 percent, say North Korea is a very serious threat while 23 percent think the threat is moderate. Only 5 percent of Americans now feel the secretive communist nation poses no threat to their country.

The poll puts the level of fear into perspective by comparing the threat posed by other states and terrorist groups. The so-called Islamic State or ISIS is still considered the top threat to the U.S. with 64 percent of those polled saying the threat it poses is very serious. Iran and China are far behind ISIS and North Korea with 33 and 20 percent of Americans considering these nations a serious threat respectively.