WASHINGTON -- Two-thirds of Americans are against a preemptive strike on N. Korea, a poll showed Sunday, amid an escalating war of words between the countries' leaders.

The joint poll by the Washington Post and ABC News found that 67 percent of respondents were in favor of an attack on the North only if the regime strikes the US or its allies first. The remaining 23 percent said the US should launch an attack before North Korea can strike America or its allies.

If the US launched a preemptive strike on North Korea, 82 percent said it would risk starting a larger war in East Asia.

In the absence of a distinction between the two types of strikes, 39 percent supported the US bombing North Korean military targets against 54 percent who opposed.
 

Tensions have heightened in the wake of North Korea's repeated missile launches and sixth nuclear test earlier this month. Last week, US President Donald Trump threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea in the event of an attack on his country or its allies. North Korea retorted with threats to take the "highest-level" countermeasures, including a powerful hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific Ocean.

In the latest show of military force, the US flew bombers off North Korea's eastern coast on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the poll found that 37 percent of the American public trusts Trump to handle the situation with North Korea against 42 percent who did not trust the president "at all." Trust in US military leaders was higher at 72 percent, including 43 percent who said they trust them "a great deal."

On other options to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons, 76 percent voiced support for additional economic sanctions, while 32 percent backed offering financial incentives such as aid money.

In general, 70 percent of Americans said North Korea poses a "serious threat" to their country.

The survey was conducted on 1,002 adults nationwide from Sept. 18-21 and had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points. (Yonhap)