A high-level South Korean official said Seoul could seek nuclear weapons, with Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul suggesting a strategic arsenal may be needed because President Donald Trump is “unpredictable.”
Speaking to the South Korean National Assembly last week, Cho said it was “premature to talk about such a Plan B [developing nuclear weapons], but that doesn’t mean it’s off the table,” adding “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.
While Washington has long opposed South Korea developing its own nuclear weapons, Seoul has the raw materials and resources to build a bomb. However, in 2016 Trump said that it may be better for South Korea and Japan to develop nukes as a counter to North Korea’s strategic weapons.
The idea is popular in South Korea, with polls showing that 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 volatile. “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, even before Trump’s reelection top South Korean officials had floated developing nuclear weapons because of the threat posed by North Korea. Last year, then-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said the decision must remain “on the table.”
Embattled South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol 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.” He 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 as a show of force directed at Pyongyang.
In response, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of DPRK Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, said that “The United States is repeatedly committing provocative acts that ignore North Korea’s security concerns and worsen the situation.”
Kim pointed out that the American warship, the USS Carl Vinson, as well as a US submarine that arrived in South Korea earlier this year, are both capable of delivering nuclear strikes.
She added that 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,” Kim explained.
