South Korean President Moon's popularity jumps after Korean summit

SEOUL, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in's approval rating ended a six-week losing streak to rebound to over 60 percent thanks to positive evaluations of his summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week, a survey showed Monday.

Moon's rating rose 8.8 percentage points from a week earlier to 61.9 percent in a Realmeter survey of 2,507 people conducted from Sept. 17 to Friday. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Those with negative views of Moon's performance fell 9.4 percentage points to 32.3 percent.

Moon's approval rating fell to a record low of 53.1 percent in the second week of September due to sluggish economy and jobs data.

The Seoul-based pollster attributed the rise to the "positive evaluation of the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang among all regions and generations."

Moon's trip to the North from Tuesday through Thursday produced a series of tangible results, including Kim's pledge to take concrete denuclearization steps, such as dismantling the country's ICBM test site and his pledge to make a reciprocal visit to Seoul at an earlier date.

The two leaders also agreed to take sweeping measures to reduce military tensions and further bolster inter-Korean exchanges and economic cooperation, such as reconnecting cross-border roads and railways and to work together to win the right to host the Summer Olympics in 2032.