‘Too early’ to discuss Seoul’s possible nuclear armament: Cho Tae-yul
South Korea’s foreign minister on Wednesday dispelled concerns of US President Donald Trump recognizing North Korea as a nuclear-armed state ahead of a potential resumption of dialogue with the leader of the reclusive regime.
During a National Assembly hearing, Seoul’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said Trump “will not recognize” the North as a nuclear-armed state. This came in response to ruling People Power Party Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun’s question about Trump’s recent description of Pyongyang as a “nuclear power.”
Cho stressed that there is “a shared consensus between South Korea and the US on (pursuing) the complete denuclearization” of the North, when Rep. Yoon pointed out Pyongyang’s advancing nuclear weapons program may force the international community to see it as a nuclear-armed state at some point.
Shortly after returning to the White House, Trump referred to North Korea as a “nuclear power” while signing a series of executive orders. Trump’s US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, also called North Korea a “nuclear power” during his Senate confirmation hearing, held last month, before taking office.
This generated waves of concern among observers here, adding obscurities to the outlook on the Trump administration’s North Korea policy. Some critics raised the idea that Washington could turn towards a more pragmatic approach when dealing with the North, such as arms reduction or a nuclear freeze, instead of pursuing complete denuclearization.
In line with such sentiments, Rep. Yoon on Wednesday pointed out that the US and the North could ultimately settle on a nuclear freeze, which would leave the South to confront the reality of a nuclear-armed Pyongyang on the peninsula.
The five-term conservative lawmaker underscored the need for Seoul to secure nuclear capabilities to deter the threat posed by the North.
“South Korea must at least declare a limited or conditional nuclear armament,” Rep. Yoon told Cho in the parliamentary hearing.
The lawmaker pointed to the possibility of Washington’s pursuit of Pyongyang’s arms reduction and nuclear freeze, and urged Cho to come up with measures to tackle such scenarios. The measures would include forging an agreement with Washington that would enable sharing of nuclear weapons between the allies.
Cho drew the line at the ruling conservative party’s push for Seoul’s nuclear armament, claiming that it is “too early” to discuss such possibilities. Experts have said that Seoul's nuclear armament could set off an arms race in the Northeast Asia region.
Wednesday's hearing took place amid concerns about Seoul's potential role when Trump possibly resumes his personal diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Trump recently said he plans to reach out to Kim again, in a Fox News interview, referring to the nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang that have been stalled since the two leaders' 2019 summit in Hanoi.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
