'평화로운 나라' 순위서 한국 55위…북한 최하위권 149위

South Korea is the world's 55th most peaceful country, according to an Australia-based think tank.
The Institute for Economics and Peace ranked the peacefulness of 163 countries based on 23 indicators in three areas level of social safety and security, the extent of any ongoing domestic and international conflict... and their degree of militarization.
Seoul's ranking was down nine notches from last year,... with the report citing notable deteriorations over the past decade in the confidence in the military.
North Korea moved up a notch to rank 149th,... but it's still the only Asia-Pacific country in the bottom 25.
Pyeongyang was given the lowest score in terms of nuclear and heavy weapons capabilities,... noting that there's been lack of tangible progress despite denuclearization talks with the U.S.
Iceland was the most peaceful nation,... followed by New Zealand and Austria.
Afghanistan was at the bottom of that ranking.