Clamour for Going Nuclear Gains Traction in South Korea
The nuclear issue has been simmering in South Korea for quite some time. During Park Chung-hee’s regime, there was a serious move to revisit the country’s nuclear option as a means of deterrence, but the US succeeded in dissuading the regime from pursuing it. However, as the North Korean threat escalated, the nuclear issue as a deterrence strategy regained focus. This coincided with the diminishing of trust on US nuclear deterrence or perception thereof. However, a policy reversal on the nuclear issue in South Korea was never easy as domestic advocates and opponents were never able to reach a consensus. Several imponderables surfaced and were debated. These include the fear of international sanctions, repercussions from the withdrawal of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), domino effect, negative impact on the South Korean economy and lack of political consensus, which came in the way of a serious rethink to pursue a nuclear path. The onus lies on the US to provide reassurance, through its extended nuclear deterrence strategy, to dissuade South Korea from entertaining nuclear thought in the future.
- Rajaram Panda |
- October-December 2025 |
