Over half of experts believe inter-Korean relations have seen substantial progress in the five years since the historic Pyongyang summit in 2000.

Survey agency Insight Research released on Thursday the results of a telephone poll conducted late last month on 200 specialists on inter-Korean relations.

Sixty-one percent cited substantial progress in inter-Korean reconciliation, cooperation and peaceful coexistence, down from 69 percent in a survey taken a year after the summit.

In addition, 46 percent agreed that military tension on the Korean Peninsula has fallen, down from 54 percent in 2001.

On North Korea’s claim of nuclear weapons possession, 56 percent downplayed it as brinkmanship and only 28 percent called it a real crisis.