South Koreans are getting increasingly rattled by the accelerating nuclear and missile threat from North Korea after years of apathy.

Now not just conservative older South Koreans but a growing number of younger people who have tended to be more pro-North Korean support a hardline approach to the North.

"Months of provocations by North Korea and steady news reports about a looming crisis compounded by the unpredictable styles of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump appear to be affecting public sentiment," said Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea expert at Dongkuk University.

Most South Koreans seemed unfazed by the war of words between Trump and Kim until early last month. The Los Angeles Times described South Koreans as "surprising blasé." But after North Korea's latest nuclear test, more and more people say they sense palpable tension.

Kim Hye-ran (34), an elementary school teacher in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, said, "For the first time in my life, I searched the Internet for the nearest bomb shelter to my house. I am nervous, because North Korea seems to have perfected a nuclear bomb."

And Kim Young-sung (48), who runs a restaurant in Suwon outside Seoul said, "I fear the Korean Peninsula could be reduced to rubble after watching North Korea continue its nuclear tests."

Office worker Park Ga-hee (25) favors a hardline. "Of course we have to halt all aid to North Korea and we also need to completely isolate it," she said.