In the face of increasing tensions with North Korea, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has raised the possibility of his country becoming nuclear-armed. Peace on the Korean peninsula can only be maintained through its own strength, Yoon told Defense Minister Lee Jong Sup yesterday, as South Korean broadcasters have now reported.
“Should the threat from North Korea’s nuclear weapons program increase, we might station tactical nuclear weapons (of the United States) here in South Korea or have nuclear weapons ourselves,” Yoon said.
Yesterday, Yoon was briefed by the Department of Defense and the Department of Foreign Affairs on their strategies for the New Year. It was also regarding military deterrence once morest threats from the neighboring country.
Tensions rose once more last year
The conflict on the Korean peninsula became significantly more explosive last year. North Korea fired nuclear-capable missiles at an increased rate. Allied forces of the US and South Korea resumed full-scale joint military exercises. The tensions in South Korea also fueled the discussion regarding its own nuclear armament.
South Korea is one of the signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which aims to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the technologies required to manufacture them. North Korea withdrew from the treaty in 2003.
