{"id":2199879,"date":"2023-01-12T10:26:26","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T10:26:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199879"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:10:23","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:10:23","slug":"how-domestic-politics-and-geopolitics-influence-south-koreas-nuclear-calculus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/01\/how-domestic-politics-and-geopolitics-influence-south-koreas-nuclear-calculus\/","title":{"rendered":"How domestic politics and geopolitics influence South Korea\u2019s nuclear calculus"},"content":{"rendered":"
President Yoon Suk-yeol <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> Wednesday during a joint policy briefing with his foreign and defense ministers that if the North Korean nuclear threat becomes more serious, South Korea could acquire and deploy its own tactical nuclear weapons in response.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But he immediately caveated that by saying that it is important for the ROK to choose \u201crealistic\u201d options, such as those under <\/span>discussion<\/span><\/a> with Washington on joint planning involving U.S. nuclear assets.<\/span><\/p>\n Seemingly sensing the hot-button nature of Yoon\u2019s comment, the presidential office sent a notice to journalists informing them that Yoon remains \u201cadamant in his adherence to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)\u201d and that Seoul is focused on strengthening extended deterrence between the ROK and the U.S. to effectively deter the North Korean threat.<\/span><\/p>\n However, the comment might also reflect domestic political factors more than serious national security goals, and it remains doubtful that Seoul will seriously consider challenging the NPT regime for the foreseeable future.<\/span><\/p>\n