Deterrence is better than nuclear armaments

Voices calling for South Korea’s nuclear armaments are growing fast in the People Power Party (PPP) after Russia swiftly improved relations with North Korea. Rep. Na Kyung-won — a candidate for the chairmanship of the governing party in the July 23 national convention — stressed the need to consider our own nuclear armaments. “I will establish it as our party line if elected PPP leader,” she said. “I will prepare detailed policies for the goal by closely cooperating with the government.” Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon jumped on the bandwagon by pointing to “North Korea’s miniaturization of nuclear weapons,” adding, “Without nukes, we will be dragged by a country with the weapons.” Daegu mayor Hong Joon-pyo also joined the chorus.

The PPP’s sudden turn to nuclear armament is certainly related to North Korea, which is being widely recognized as a nuclear weapons state. The cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear power — which was specified in the new treaty signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang last week — implies Russia’s recognition of North Korea as a nuclear power. PPP lawmakers took such a drastic turn after South Korea’s security situation has rapidly worsened since the signing of the new treaty in Pyongyang.

But South Korea must pay a high price for arming itself with nuclear weapons. Over the past 30 years, it has persistently demanded North Korea end its nuclear development based on the 1991 Joint Declaration of the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The United Nations’ resolutions against North Korea over its nuclear weapons programs were also made based on that principle. If South Korea abandons the declaration, it cannot demand the North’s denuclearization and can lose the grounds for maintaining international sanctions on Pyongyang.

Above all, if South Korea secedes from the Non-Proliferation Treaty, it must undergo harsh international sanctions despite its heavy reliance on international trade. If the country cannot import the nuclear materials needed to activate its nuclear reactors, it will deal a critical blow to electricity production for a country relying on reactors for 30.7 percent of its electricity. That will trigger a nuclear domino effect in Japan and Taiwan, and China and Russia will not just sit on their hands. Our nuclear armament only fuels security concerns.

The chant for nuclear armament is dangerous. To deter the North’s nuclearization, augmenting the 2023 Washington Declaration aimed at bolstering an extended nuclear deterrence is the best option. We hope the PPP candidates for the chairmanship of the conservative party will stop the dangerous gamble based on populism.