More South Koreans want Seoul to have its own nuclear weapons

For the first time, South Koreans in the survey preferred to obtain their own nuclear weapons to the military defense of the United States.

The Financial Times reported that 66% of citizens “supported” or “strongly supported” the transition to a policy of independent nuclear deterrence.

The DPRK, South Korea’s neighbor, no longer just has nuclear weapons; in exchange for missiles, it started receiving military technology from Russia that can help it develop ways to deliver them.

This makes South Koreans think about the need to have a means of deterring an aggressive neighbor.

Although the government currently has no plans to acquire nuclear weapons, some politicians are calling for it to be done immediately.

The figure increased by 6 percentage points over the year. In a situation where respondents were asked to choose whether they preferred to have their own nuclear weapons or rely on US military protection, the number of supporters of the first approach increased and for the first time exceeded the number of supporters of the second.

“Support for the idea of acquiring nuclear weapons is growing and strengthening,” said Sangsin Lee, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU).

The country is not yet in a position to consider becoming a nuclear power, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo told reporters in June.

However, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who is considered one of the likely candidates for the presidency in the 2027 elections, last week called for the immediate acquisition of nuclear weapons.

“Nuclear weapons can only be countered with a similar response. If we rely only on cooperation between South Korea and the United States under the American nuclear umbrella, it will significantly limit our security,” he said.

South Korea, Japan, and Western countries fear that Russia is sharing its missile technology with the North Korean regime.

In the spring, Moscow blocked the continuation of the work of the UN commission that monitored the DPRK’s nuclear and missile program and compliance with relevant sanctions. As a result, the group, which had been operating for 15 years, was put to an end.