South Korea's Nuclear Armament: Candidate's Statement and Regional Risks (www.straitstimes.com)

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Kim Moon-soo, a presidential candidate from South Korea’s ruling People Power Party, stated that he might consider the issue of nuclear armament for the country within the framework of its alliance with the United States.

This statement was made during a televised debate on Tuesday. Discussing the possibility of nuclear armament could signal a significant shift in South Korea’s defense strategy, though its implementation would depend on the terms of the alliance with the U.S.

This is not the first time a candidate from the People Power Party has urged the U.S. to deploy nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula to counter regional threats. Some American officials have already expressed support for this idea.

However, there are significant risks that are likely to prevent Washington and Seoul from taking this step.

Transferring nuclear weapons to South Korea would signal to other countries that the Trump administration no longer considers the non-proliferation regime important. Moreover, it would confirm that Washington opposes nuclear weapons only in the hands of its adversaries, not its allies.

The AUKUS partnership has already raised serious concerns in Southeast Asia due to the destabilizing consequences of increasing military competition. What will happen in the region if South Korea also becomes a player on the nuclear chessboard?

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[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

South Korea's population will be cut in half in less than 50 years and be right around the size of North Korea by that time, which will have a much larger army unless South Korea dramatically increases conscription.

Within 70 years, South Korea will cease to be a functioning society. Their options are to dramatically and abruptly increase immigration (overtaking their native population and thereby wreaking havoc on their culture), reunify with North Korea (whose population would overtake theirs), or just give up and accept fate.

Either way, they're going to be overrun or die out in the long run, and it'll only get harder for working age people. Not sure nuclear armament is the best strategy given the demographic realities...

this post was submitted on 29 May 2025

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