Key PPP leader says S. Korea needs to consider acquiring nuclear weapons
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Kim Chong-in, head of the emergency committee of South Korea’s main opposition People Power Party (PPP), said on Nov. 24 that South Korea may need to consider acquiring nuclear weapons if the North refuses to give up its own. Kim has focused on broadening the PPP’s reach since being named leader this past June; this was the first time he has gone on record with what could be taken as a hardline stance on national security.
While speaking to the Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club, at the Korea Press Center in Seoul on Tuesday, Kim was asked to state his position on the argument, held by many South Korean conservatives, that the country should develop its own nuclear weapons. “It’s true that there are some conservatives who think that South Korea should proceed with nuclear armament if North Korea doesn’t denuclearize. If North Korea never gives up its nuclear weapons, South Korea may need to reconsider the option of nuclear armament,” Kim said in response.
Kim stipulated that such an option should only be considered if the US could no longer keep nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula or provide a “nuclear umbrella” under its alliance with South Korea.
National security hardliners in the PPP, including current lawmakers Cho Kyoung-tae and Han Ki-ho, former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and former lawmaker Won Yoo-chul, have called for South Korea’s acquisition of nuclear weapons and have slammed the Moon administration’s national security policy.
“Even if the Biden administration starts nuclear talks with North Korea, I don’t think there will be much progress, given North Korea’s attitude so far. I don’t think the current [Moon] administration will be able to maintain its current policy toward the North after Biden’s inauguration,” Kim said.
Kim was also asked what diplomatic stance South Korea should take in the conflict between the US and China. “The best approach for South Korea to take is to maintain a strong alliance with the US, which can serve as the basis for a separate relationship with China,” he said.
“Liberal democracy, a market economy, and other values pursued by the US are nearly the same as the values we pursue, and we have a long alliance relationship. Those should be treated as the parameters of our foreign policy. The situation dictates that our relationship with China be based on mutual economic needs.”
By Kim Mi-na, staff reporter
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