Domestic conflict deepens over tactical nuclear weapons

By Yi Whan-woo

Policymakers, politicians, pundits, researchers and civic activists are sharply divided over whether to ask the U.S. to redeploy its tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea following North Korea’s sixth nuclear test.

Analysts say the domestic rift could be more complicated to settle than the one caused by the deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here, because nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction while THAAD is for self-defense against incoming ballistic missiles.

“It may not be easy to find the middle of the road in the debate over U.S. tactical nuclear weapons,” said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University.

Lee Kang-yun, a political analyst, also said, “There’s clearly a discrepancy among different groups.”

The division mainly comes from a gap in ideological and security interests, with advocates claiming the tactical nuclear weapons can be effective in extending nuclear deterrence against North Korea’ military threats.

The naysayers counter that redeploying nuclear weapons for the first time since 1991 will only lead to a “New Cold War” and also trigger an arms race in Northeast Asia.

In this climate, Lee Sang-chul, the first deputy chief of the National Security Office (NSO) at Cheong Wa Dae, said Tuesday the government has “never considered redeployment.”

Lee also said redeployment could weaken Seoul’s pursuance of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through the scrapping of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.

This is in contrast to Defense Minister Song Young-moo, who recently told the National Assembly that redeployment of the tactical weapons could be considered. Some political sources said Cheong Wa Dae warned him over his remarks, which it described as a “slip of the tongue.”

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the ultra-left Justice Party have been backing Cheong Wa Dae’s stance.

DPK lawmaker Song Young-gil remained skeptical over whether tactical nuclear weapons can effectively defuse North Korea’s military threats, while Justice Party Chairwoman Rep. Lee Jeong-mi warned South Korea would be a “victim of a new Cold War.”

However, the two conservative opposition parties -- the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and the Bareun Party -- disagreed.

Many LKP lawmakers including Chairman Hong Joon-pyo and floor leader Chung Woo-taik have been calling for the redeployment for a “nuclear balance in the region and the world’s stability.”

On Tuesday, LKP chief policymaker Rep. Kim Gwang-lim said he will push the National Assembly to approve a bill on spending for the redeployment of nuclear weapons.

Kim’s move comes after 68.3 percent of 1,014 respondents supported bringing the tactical weapons here in a survey by the Korea Society Opinion Institute last week. Only 25.4 percent disapproved.

Bareun Party floor leader Joo Ho-young also called for a “balance of terror” by moving nuclear weapons to South Korea, saying, “It would be ridiculous for us to stick to the idea of denuclearization when the North has its own nukes.”

The Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank under the National Intelligence Service, released separate reports Wednesday written by two of its researchers supporting and opposing the presence of tactical nuclear weapons.

Park Byung-kwang, wrote that the weapons would diminish Pyongyang’s threats and eventually bring it forward for negotiations.

But Lee Soo-hyung, said the weapons could “ironically serve as a catalyst” for North Korea’s nuclear provocations.

Some military experts warned that the debate over U.S. tactical nuclear weapons could provoke China further in addition to its deteriorated ties with South Korea over THAAD.

“We’ve seen China being infuriated over THAAD, which is for self-defense, and it’s easy to imagine it will become paranoid about tactical nuclear weapons,” said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defense and Security Forum.

Shin In-kyun, president of the Korea Defense Network, voiced a similar view.

“The threats posed by tactical nuclear weapons will be far greater than that of THAAD considering China is eager to expand its regional influence over the U.S.,” he said. “In that regard, Beijing may make efforts to diminish every possibility that may lead to the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons.”

The experts said Japan is likely to welcome the deployment of tactical weapons because it could give the country an excuse to develop its own nuclear arms in consultation with the U.S.