Two out of three American people regard North Korea's nuclear weapons drive as a major threat to the well-being of the United States, according to poll results released Tuesday.

The survey of 2,003 adults nationwide showed 7 percent of them view North Korea as representing the greatest danger to the U.S., an identical percentage with Iraq.

The top threats were viewed as Iran and China, tied at 16 percent.

The poll was conducted by the Pew Research Center from Oct. 30 to Nov. 6. The margin of error is 2.5 percentage points.

Regarding views of long-standing global threats, 67 percent cited North Korea's nuclear program. In the previous poll in 2009,

69 percent said the communist nation's nuclear ambitions pose a major challenge. In a survey conducted shortly after the North agreed to abandon all of its nuclear program in September 2005, 66 percent considered its nuclear weapons development as a global threat.

"Iran's nuclear program continues to be one of the top global threats to the United States in the public's view," the research institute said, adding nearly seven in 10 Americans (68%) said that Iran's nuclear program is a major threat.

The survey, meanwhile, found that views of U.S. global importance and power have passed a key milestone, the institute said.

For the first time in surveys dating back nearly 40 years, a majority (53%) said the U.S. plays a less important and powerful role as a world leader than it did a decade earlier.

"The share saying the U.S. is less powerful has increased 12 points since 2009 and has more than doubled -- from just 20% -- since 2004," it said. (Yonhap News)