Tae Young-ho: "We Must Have Our Own Nuclear Armament Roadmap... Peace Dependent on Others' Nuclear Will Is Not Ours"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Tae Young-ho, a member of the People Power Party and former North Korean diplomat, mentioned the Afghanistan situation and argued that South Korea should also have a nuclear armament roadmap.

On the 18th, Tae stated on social networking service (SNS), "If the next administration fails to achieve the denuclearization of North Korea by the end of 2027, we will inevitably have no choice but to proceed with nuclear development. We must present this strategic timetable to the United States and China even now, urging them to actively work toward North Korea's denuclearization."

He added, "If the United States compromises with North Korea at the level of nuclear freeze, no matter how advanced our conventional military power is, there will be a situation where we cannot deter North Korea," emphasizing, "Even now, through NATO-style nuclear sharing and tactical nuclear redeployment, we must prevent Kim Jong-un of North Korea from having any more reckless ideas."

He further argued, "However, peace relying on others' nuclear weapons is neither ours nor permanent," stressing the need for an independent nuclear armament roadmap.

Tae said, "South Korea cannot be compared on the same level as Afghanistan or South Vietnam," but emphasized, "There is clearly a commonality between our country and Afghanistan in that the security structure depended on the role of the U.S. military in protecting the nation."

Quoting U.S. President Joe Biden's statement that "the U.S. does not fight wars for countries that lack the will to fight," Tae said, "We cannot help but question whether it is truly impossible to create a security structure that independently protects ourselves," and stated, "The lesson Afghanistan gives us is that there are no eternal enemies or eternal allies in this world."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.