South Korea: nuclear weapons are ‘not off the table’
The threat from the country’s northern neighbours, along with a fear that the US is no longer a reliable ally, has led to discussions about nuclear deterrents.
The United States has sent an aircraft carrier to South Korea in defiance of North Korean threats, soon after Seoul hinted it could acquire nuclear weapons given the “unpredictable” character of President Trump’s government.
Cho Tae-yul, the South Korean foreign minister, told the National Assembly that an independent nuclear deterrent was not “off the table” and that “we must prepare for all possible scenarios”. His words suggest the potential for huge shifts in security policy among treaty allies of the US, who no longer feel confident that Trump will honour longstanding promises to defend them.
“It’s premature to talk about such a Plan B, but that doesn’t mean it’s off the table,” Cho said last week when asked by an MP about the potential for nuclear armament. “Given that international situations are developing in unpredictable directions ... we must prepare for all possible scenarios.”
The visit by USS Carl Vinson was not directly connected to such statements, and will help to reassure South Koreans that they have not been abandoned by the US yet. On Friday Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, oversaw the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles and ordered his armed forces to be ready to use its nuclear weapons.
“Our military will powerfully retaliate against any North Korean threat, and the South Korea-US alliance will support peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region through close co-operation,” Rear Admiral Lee Nam-gyu said after the carrier docked in the port of Busan.
General Xavier Brunson, the commander of US Forces Korea, said: “The Carl Vinson’s operations demonstrate our commitment to bolster the defence of allies and partners, and strengthen our ability to ‘fight tonight and win’.”
A poll last year by Gallup Korea suggested that 73 per cent of South Koreans believe the country should develop its own nuclear weapons.
Last year Yoon Suk-yeol, the South Korean president who is facing impeachment for an abortive declaration of martial law, caused international alarm when he said that acquiring tactical nuclear weapons was an option for Seoul and that this could be achieved “pretty quickly”.
He stepped back after President Biden’s government provided renewed reassurances of the US commitment to protecting South Korea beneath its “nuclear umbrella”.
Trump has frequently expressed annoyance that Seoul does not pay more for the US troops stationed there. His threats to abandon the defence of Ukraine will add to concerns that the US is no longer a dependable ally.
The Times
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