Song Young-gil: "Introducing Tactical Nukes? It Could Lead to the Risk of Nuclear War on the Korean Peninsula"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized the conservative opposition's call for the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, saying, "The Korean Peninsula could fall into the risk of nuclear war."

At the Supreme Council meeting on the 30th, Leader Song said, "Some candidates from the People Power Party are advocating for the introduction of tactical nuclear weapons," adding, "They intend to slightly reduce the explosive power of strategic nuclear weapons so they can be used on the battlefield, keeping in mind the possibility of an actual nuclear war. This is extremely dangerous. If these are deployed, the Korean Peninsula could truly face the risk of nuclear war."

He also pointed out that North Korea cannot be recognized as a nuclear-armed state. Leader Song stated, "We cannot accept North Korea's nuclear weapons as a fait accompli. Although North Korea is developing nuclear weapons, the firm and official stance of the United States and the South Korean government is that North Korea cannot be recognized as an official nuclear-armed state," adding, "Deploying tactical nuclear weapons would effectively acknowledge North Korea as a nuclear-armed state and simultaneously weaken the justification for demanding North Korea's denuclearization."

Regarding the NATO-style nuclear sharing argument, he said, "Even in NATO, the final authority on nuclear use rests with the United States. It is not shared with NATO," and questioned opposition candidates, "Those who oppose the transfer of wartime operational control over conventional weapons?if nuclear weapons are brought in, what decision-making authority would we have?"

He further criticized, saying, "Is it really appropriate to bring in nuclear weapons when the final decision-making authority lies with the United States? It feels like we are almost giving up on self-reliant defense."

Leader Song also said, "This is a policy that the United States cannot agree with. Are you willing to risk conflict with the U.S. and even withdraw from the NPT to pursue this? It could inevitably trigger Japan's nuclear armament. Have you considered this?" He emphasized, "This year marks the 30th anniversary of the declaration of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula, agreed upon by former President Roh Tae-woo of the now-defunct Democratic Liberal Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party, and Chairman Kim Jong-il. North Korea's nuclear development policy is absolutely unacceptable. We must strongly urge North Korea to denuclearize and do our utmost to normalize inter-Korean and North Korea-U.S. relations to achieve denuclearization."

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