By Karl Friedhoff

For the first time since our polling began in January 2011, the South Korean public views South-North relations to be the most important issue facing the nation. This marks a dramatic reversal from 2012 and early 2013, when the issue was continually ranked as one of the least important.

In a survey commissioned by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, conducted from April 14-16, 30% cited South-North relations as the most important issue to the nation, compared with just 8% in January 2013.

The recent rise contrasts with the how the South Korean public reacted in 2012 to North Korean missile tests. The first of those in April created a 4 percentage point rise in the importance of the issue from March—within the margin of error—and then quickly fell back to its original level in May.