Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
'Unfeasible' idea of nuclear-armed South Korea resurfaces
The USS Theodore Roosevelt, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is seen at a naval base in the southeastern port city of Busan, Saturday. Courtesy of Navy
By Lee Hyo-jin
Experts call for rational response to Kim-Putin military pact
The idea of South Korea developing its own nuclear weapons is resurfacing among some U.S. pundits in light of the strengthened military partnership between North Korea and Russia.
However, while local analysts describe this as highly unlikely, they are skeptical about whether the growing camaraderie between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin is significant enough to push South Korea to withdraw from its decades-long commitment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), a move that would likely draw major international sanctions.
Allison Hooker, former senior director for Asia at the National Security Council under former U.S. President Donald Trump, suggested, Friday, that the deepening military relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang might prompt Seoul to consider pursuing its own nuclear weapons.
"I think we cannot rule out the possibility that South Korea might move more rapidly toward its own nuclear program. We need to determine how we feel about that within the U.S. and the alliance context as well," Hooker said during a webinar hosted by the Asia Society Policy Institute.
Her remarks came a day after Republican Senator Roger Wicker called for redeploying U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea, reiterating a proposal he floated in late May.
"With our allies South Korea, Japan and Australia, we should discuss nuclear burden-sharing agreements. It’s time for them to step forward and join us in nuclear burden-sharing," Wicker said Thursday on the Senate floor, as he spoke about the latest Kim-Putin summit.
Wicker added, "We should also explore redeploying American nuclear weapons back to the region to keep North Korea and China in check."
An F-18 fighter jet is seen in the hangar of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, anchored at a naval base in Busan, Saturday. Joint Press Corps
Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies, dismissed these proposals as unrealistic.
"Do the Americans really mean it? Does the U.S. truly want Seoul to obtain its own nuclear weapons, which would decrease U.S. influence on the Korean Peninsula? I don't think so," Yang told The Korea Times, Sunday, adding that such statements from U.S. pundits seem to be bluffs aimed at Russia and China.
Cho Han-bum, a senior researcher at the Korean Institute for National Unification, described discussions about South Korea going nuclear as an "overreaction" to the military pact signed by Putin and Kim.
During a summit in Pyongyang on Wednesday, the two leaders signed a new comprehensive partnership agreement, which includes a clause for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties.
South Korean officials have strongly protested the North Korea-Russia military pact, stating that the deal poses a threat to its security. They also warned that Seoul might consider sending arms to Kyiv in response to Russia's military support to North Korea.
"It is true that security threats have worsened after Russia and North Korea — both nuclear-armed countries — signed the military agreement, which adds to the U.S.' security burden," Cho said.
"But the idea of South Korea obtaining nuclear weapons is merely rhetoric lacking feasibility."
The researcher explained that even if the United States brings South Korea’s nuclear armament to the U.N. table, the other four U.N. Security Council members —Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom — are unlikely to consent. Also, a nuclear-armed South Korea would likely trigger a nuclear domino effect in East Asia, prompting similar discussions in Taiwan and Japan, a scenario that the international community would not support.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends a farewell ceremony for Russian President Vladimir Putin at an international airport outside Pyongyang, Wednesday. AP-Yonhap
"Neighboring countries, including South Korea, should respond rationally to what could eventually become Kim Jong-un's one-sided love for Russia depending on the course of the war in Ukraine," Cho said, stressing that Kim's offerings to Putin are limited to ammunition and some other weapons.
"Even if North Korean troops are deployed to the war in Ukraine to support Russia, they are likely to be assigned to rebuilding infrastructure in Russian-occupied regions rather than participating in frontline battles."
South Korea's intelligence agency said Saturday that it is closely monitoring the possibility of North Korean troops being deployed to the Ukraine war.
Seoul is planning to flex its military muscles with its allies in the wake of the Pyongyang-Moscow military partnership.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived at a naval port in Busan on Saturday in a major show of force against North Korea's evolving threats and deepening military cooperation with Russia. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is expected to participate in a South Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral military exercise, dubbed Freedom Edge, which will take place later this month.