• Live
    • Audio Only
  • google plus
  • facebook
  • twitter
News > World

Moon Rejects North Korea Nuclear Program, Seoul Will Not Arm

  • South Korea President Moon Jae-in

    South Korea President Moon Jae-in | Photo: AFP

Published 1 November 2017
Opinion

A September Gallup Korea poll also revealed that a majority of South Koreans were in favor of nuclear armament – 60 percent.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in says Seoul rejects North Korea's nuclear-armed state, adding his government would not pursue nuclear armament.

RELATED: 
Seoul Claims North Korean Hackers 'Stole' Huge Cache of Strategic War Plans

Moon made the declaration during his second state of the nation address at the National Assembly.

“According to the joint agreement by the two Koreas on denuclearization, North Korea’s nuclear state cannot be accepted or tolerated. We will not develop or possess nuclear weapons either,” the president said.

But, after North Korea's sixth nuclear test on Sept. 3, several politicians – some belonging to Moon's ruling Democratic Party – suggested that the South should reconsider its stance on a nuclear weapons program. “The redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons is an alternative worth a full review,” Defense Minister Song Young-moo said.

A September Gallup Korea poll also revealed that a majority of South Koreans were in favor of nuclear armament – 60 percent.

South Korea previously pursued nuclear weapons in the 1970s, during the presidency of Park Chung-hee. The South housed nuclear-armed weapons, belonging to the United States, throughout the Cold War until 1991 – when then-President George H.W. Bush withdrew nuclear weapons deployed abroad. 

Following North Korea's slew of tests, South Korea’s opposition party officials approached Washington to suggest the redeployment of weapons.

U.S. President Donald Trump, prior to being elected, had expressed openness to South Korea and Japan acquiring nuclear weapons to temper threats from North Korea.

Moon, however, has remained resolute against nuclear weapons being redeployed to South Korea – a move the head of state says will escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis shared similar sentiments during a recent visit to Seoul, stating that U.S. strategic assets were sufficient to deter any action from Pyongyang.

Moon said there were more suitable options for dealing with North Korea. “Sanctions and pressure are means to bring North Korea to the negotiating table and to make the right choice,” Moon said.

“There can never be a military conflict on the Korean Peninsula or military operations without the South Korean government’s prior consent,” the president adding that the South will never tolerate North Korea as a nuclear state.

“According to the joint denuclearization declaration made by North and South Korea, we cannot tolerate or recognize North Korea as a nuclear state. We too, will not develop nuclear (weapons) or own them,” he said. "Our government was launched in the most serious of times in terms of security. The government is making efforts to stably manage the situation it faces as well as to bring about peace on the Korean peninsula.”

President Moon added that China had recently pledged to work on denuclearization. China and South Korea agreed to normalize relations following a year-long standoff over the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.

“The appropriate handling of the THAAD issue by China and South Korea can provide an opportunity for both countries to increase cooperation and communication on the peninsula issue,” the People’s Daily published.

RELATED: 
Washington and Pyongyang React to Trump's Tillerson Tweet​​​​​​​

John Delury, a professor at Seoul’s Yonsei University, views the re-establishment of ties between both countries as the best-suited choice to yield positive rewards. “It is arguably Moon’s first foreign policy breakthrough, giving South Korea’s economy a boost and enhancing his geopolitical leverage by strengthening the relationship with China," he explained.

“But Xi can also claim a victory - he made his point that Seoul needs to factor China’s interests more seriously into its security posture, at least when it comes to things like missile defense that can alter the regional balance of power.”

North Korea will likely dominate talks when Trump begins a visit to the region, later this week.

The U.S. president's trip, according to the White House, will not include a stopover at the demilitarized zone (DMZ), which borders North Korea and South Korea.

Comment
0
Comments
Post with no comments.