Rising Calls Within Ruling Party for 'Tactical Nuclear Redeployment' Amid North Korea's ICBM Success

Nuclear Armament Theory from All Leading Presidential Candidates
Concerns Raised Over Potential NPT Withdrawal

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] As North Korea successfully test-fired its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) ‘Hwasong-17,’ voices calling for the ruling party’s ‘tactical nuclear redeployment’ have grown louder. When fired at a normal angle, the Hwasong-17 has a range of 15,000 km, capable of reaching the entire U.S. mainland, effectively becoming a ‘game changer.’

Cho Kyung-tae, one of the next ruling party leadership candidates from the People Power Party, emphasized nuclear armament in a phone interview on the 21st, saying, "We must strongly advocate for our own nuclear development to have nuclear deterrence against North Korea." He also raised his voice through his social network service (SNS) on the same day, stating, "The fate of the free Republic of Korea cannot rely solely on other countries," and "It is a time when a strong military balance weapon capable of countering North Korea is desperately needed. Simply condemning North Korea and calling for dialogue should not remain mere words."

Calls for tactical nuclear redeployment within the ruling party had subsided after South Korea and the U.S. decided at the 54th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) earlier this month to operate U.S. strategic assets as if they were permanently deployed. However, the situation changed as evaluations emerged that North Korea’s recently launched ICBM succeeded in rocket stage separation and other aspects. In a situation where North Korea’s nuclear threat is becoming increasingly real, there is a growing perception that nuclear deterrence provided solely by the U.S. cannot guarantee the safety of the people.

Another leadership candidate, Kim Ki-hyun, is also an advocate for possessing nuclear weapons independently. He raised his voice, saying, "It is common sense that the U.S. will not trade the safety of New York and Washington," and "Now that the South Korea-U.S. missile guidelines have been lifted, we must start our own nuclear development."

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, who is also likely to challenge for party leadership, recently wrote on his SNS, "‘Nuclear for nuclear’ is a phrase that the Republic of Korea, not Kim Jong-un, the General Secretary of the Workers’ Party, should say," adding, "If we do not secure a game changer (tactical nuclear weapons), we can never protect our people and country in the nuclear game."

The ruling party’s foreign and security policy stance has also hardened. Tae Yong-ho, the foreign affairs and unification committee secretary of the ruling party, argued on his SNS, "In a situation where Kim Jong-un has shown an unwavering will to respond ‘nuclear for nuclear’ by publicly revealing even his daughter at the ICBM launch site, the Republic of Korea should not only enhance the execution capability of extended deterrence based on the South Korea-U.S. alliance but also consider securing ‘direct deterrence’ through temporary nuclear possession as a long-term issue."

However, some within the ruling party express caution, noting that independent nuclear possession or tactical nuclear redeployment would mean withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and thus require careful consideration.

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