Rising threats reignite nuclear debate in South Korea

As the North grows its arsenal, some ask if Seoul can afford to remain reliant on the US

- Wendy Teo

In a move that has sparked anew the nuclear debate in South Korea, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un showed off a uranium enrichment facility in an undisclosed location for the first time on Sept 13.

He also vowed to "exponentially increase" his regime's nuclear weapons arsenal.

This was a day after North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan on Sept 12 and hours after it floated yet another batch of trash balloons into South Korea.

On Sept 8, Mr Kim also unveiled a new 12-axle transporter erector launcher which could be used to launch a new, longer-range missile that can potentially reach the United States.

These overt displays of nuclear weapons prowess from the North have reignited the long-running debate within South Korea on whether it should have its own nuclear arms to bolster its defences.

Seoul now depends on its ally, the US, for protection against the North's nuclear threat.

Some analysts are questioning if South Korea can afford to remain reliant on the US for protection in the face of growing threats and the prospect of former US president Donald Trump returning to the White House after the Nov 5 presidential election.

South Korea's deputy national security director Kim Tae-hyo said during a forum on Sept 3 that the re-election of Trump could "weaken the US nuclear umbrella".

In the Indo-Pacific region, South Korea, together with Japan and Australia, is under the protection of the US nuclear umbrella, an extended deterrence in which the US commits to defending an ally using the full range of its military capabilities including nuclear weapons.