A high-level South Korean official said Seoul could seek nuclear weapons. Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said a strategic arsenal may be because President Donald Trump is “unpredictable.”
Speaking to the South Korean National Assembly last week, “It’s premature to talk about such a Plan B [developing nuclear weapons], but that doesn’t mean it’s off the table,” Cho said. “Given that international situations are developing in unpredictable directions, this is a principled response that we must prepare for all possible scenarios.”
Cho’s remarks echo statements he made last month. US security dependability is driving “increasing calls for independent nuclear deterrent capability for South Korea and other countries in East Asia,” he told European leaders at the Munich Security Conference.
Seoul has the raw materials and resources to build a nuclear weapon. Washington has long opposed South Korea developing nuclear weapons. However, in 2016 Trump said that it may be better for South Korea and Japan to develop nukes because North Korea possesses strategic weapons.
The idea is popular in South Korea, with polling showing three in four people support Seoul obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Cho said Seoul was considering the nuclear option as Trump had made world events more unpredictable. “Given that international situations are developing in unpredictable directions, this is a principled response that we must prepare for all possible scenarios,” he explained.
However, top South Korean officials have floated developing nuclear weapons because of the threat posed by North Korea before Trump’s reelection. Last year, then-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said developing nuclear weapons must remain “on the table.”
Embattled South Korean President Yoon Suk Youl said in 2023, “It’s possible that the problem gets worse and our country will introduce tactical nuclear weapons or build them on our own.” Yoon added, “If that’s the case, we can have our own nuclear weapons pretty quickly, given our scientific and technological capabilities.”
Additionally, since Trump’s return to the White House, Washington has maintained its aggressive posture in East Asia. On Sunday, a US aircraft carrier stopped at a South Korean port.
In response, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un said, “The United States is repeatedly committing provocative acts that ignore North Korea’s security concerns and worsen the situation.”
Kim added that the Vinson, as well as a US submarine that arrived in South Korea earlier this year, are capable of delivering nuclear strikes.
Kim said North Korea would continue to strengthen its nuclear program. “The hostile policy toward North Korea pursued by the United States today, along with its actions, provides ample justification for the infinite strengthening of our nuclear war deterrence. We will not just sit back and comment on the situation,” she explained.
