(RT) South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol says the country could have its own nuclear weapons
President Yoon Suk-yeol stressed on Thursday that South Korea remains committed to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Earlier this month, he argued that Seoul could acquire its own weapons if North Korea continued to develop its own nuclear arsenal.
Yoon told The Wall Street Journal that South Korea’s “realistic and reasonable option would be to fully respect the NPT regime” and to limit nuclear proliferation and prevent responsive technology. He cited the landmark 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which aimed to prevent the spread of nuclear arms and relevant technologies.
The president also said Washington is “fully committed to America’s enhanced deterrence,” a policy that provides South Korea with a “nuclear umbrella” to defend against military threats. Yoon, who reiterated his commitment to the NPT regime, said last week that South Korea “had taken up the [North Korea’s nuclear weapons] issue.” His office later revealed he had no intention of doing so.
When asked to comment on these statements by Yoon, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, referring to a later explanation, said Washington and South Korea were seeking to improve their extended deterrence. added.
The South Korean leader also told the WSJ that South Korea is “preparing for greater joint planning and joint execution in the operation of US nuclear facilities on the Korean Peninsula.”
Earlier this month, Washington and Seoul expressed conflicting positions on joint nuclear exercises. Yoon Suk-yeol said the two countries were “discussing joint plans and exercises with U.S. nuclear facilities to counter the North Korean nuclear threat,” but President Joe Biden dismissed the claim.
Washington withdrew nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula in 1991 as part of a global effort to reduce nuclear arsenals. Speculation that South Korea may have a nuclear weapon increased after North Korea stepped up its missile test, US officials warned North Korea may be testing another nuclear weapon. .
North Korea claims the launches are a response to US-South Korea exercises it views as a threat to national security.
