South Korea should become nuclear threshold state, Seoul mayor says
Published: 11 Mar. 2025, 16:24
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- LEE SOO-JUNG
- [email protected]
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks during a parliamentary forum at the National Assembly in western Seoul on March 11. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/03/11/c6b3d73d-577e-4033-b51b-9df9ef606fba.jpg)
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks during a parliamentary forum at the National Assembly in western Seoul on March 11. [NEWS1]
During a parliamentary forum held at the National Assembly, Oh said that Seoul’s pursuit of "nuclear latency" would give the country better leverage and help achieve Trump’s repeatedly stated goal of denuclearizing North Korea.
Nuclear latency means the ability to develop nuclear weapons quickly in case of conflict or war. Countries that possess such a capability are also called nuclear threshold states.
“While extended deterrence is what Washington does for Seoul, the potential to use nuclear weapons would be our asset,” Oh said.
Referring to Trump’s recent remark calling South Korea a “money machine,” Oh said Washington appears to be demanding that Seoul be responsible for its own security and stand on an equal footing as a country with "the world’s 10th largest economy."
The mayor said South Korea should negotiate with the United States, premised on paying a fair price for their defense assistance and fulfilling responsibilities and obligations.
He also said South Korea could seek better leverage by proposing a deal that Trump could proudly present to Americans as his legacy.
“To do so, we should emphasize that Seoul has met Washington’s demands by constantly increasing its stake in defense cost-sharing and creating numerous jobs in the United States through investment,” the mayor said.
![Soldiers gather in front of combat vehicles at a U.S. Army base in Gyeonggi on March 10, when the Korea-U.S. combined exercise Freedom Shield began. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/03/11/ba98d922-5e70-4dfe-9df0-490e57ad0ede.jpg)
Soldiers gather in front of combat vehicles at a U.S. Army base in Gyeonggi on March 10, when the Korea-U.S. combined exercise Freedom Shield began. [YONHAP]
The mayor viewed South Korea’s industrial strength in semiconductors, nuclear power plant development and shipbuilding as “favorable cards” in negotiation with the United States.
Specifically, small modular reactors can bolster Korea’s leverage as they can be an effective energy source enabling the operation of data centers and cooling systems, which are critical to the AI industry, a field in which Washington and Beijing compete. Oh noted that Korea boasts the most advanced technology for building the reactors.
“A good deal will be made when Korea engages in practical negotiations with the United States with some concessions in investments and defense cost-sharing while not compromising key defense capabilities,” Oh said.
One negotiating option was to press the United States to allow South Korea to develop its nuclear capabilities to Japan's level.
Citing the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which allows participating states to enrich uranium peacefully, Oh said Korea should be allowed to enrich uranium for “peaceful development like Japan.”
Japan can enrich uranium up to 20 percent on its own and above that threshold if agreed upon with Washington, according to Oh.
The mayor said Tokyo received generous permissions, adding that Seoul might find it hard to obtain the same terms because Washington has become stricter about nuclear proliferation.
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, visits a shipbuilding site where his country claims to be building a nuclear submarine on March 8. [RODONG SINMUN]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/03/11/b30409a4-37db-47e9-bdd8-13598a0a9a6a.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, visits a shipbuilding site where his country claims to be building a nuclear submarine on March 8. [RODONG SINMUN]
“Hypothetically, Seoul could agree to increase its stake in the defense-cost sharing deal and include an option to use the increased payments to construct facilities to manage tactical nuclear weapons,” the mayor said. “Now is the time to give what we can offer and to obtain what we need.”
When asked about the potential backlash from the international community, Oh said there was no reason to object to South Korea’s move to achieve nuclear latency. “I think it's a matter of sovereignty if foreign countries express their concern about Seoul trying to secure the same nuclear capability as Japan and within the scope permitted by the NPT,” Oh told reporters.
Several lawmakers from the conservative People Power Party (PPP) and officials from the embassies of the United States and Japan also attended the forum.
PPP Rep. Yu Yong-weon, who hosted the forum, said achieving nuclear latency is "not an option but an essential mission" as the country faces a nuclear threat from North Korea.
BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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