National Research Institute Head's Strong Statement "Need for 'Independent Nuclear Force' in Response to North Korea... Precise Review Must Begin"

Security Strategy Institute, 'Prospects and Challenges of North Korean Denuclearization' Forum
Yoo Seong-ok "Asymmetric Correction Through Possession of Independent Nuclear Forces"
Emphasis on Psychological Warfare Against North Korea... Reality Is Leaflet and Loudspeaker Blockade

As North Korea's nuclear and missile threats continue to escalate, a proposal has emerged that South Korea should actively consider possessing its own nuclear forces as a counter-strategy.

On the 5th, Yoo Sung-ok, chairman of the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS), stated in his keynote speech at the 2023 NK Forum, hosted by the institute on the theme of 'Prospects and Challenges of North Korea's Denuclearization and Regime Change,' that "if we also possess our own nuclear forces, the nuclear imbalance and asymmetry can be corrected, and North Korea's strategic advantages can be offset."

Yuseong Ok, Chairman of the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS), is delivering the keynote speech at the 2023 NK Forum held by the institute on the 5th, themed "Prospects and Challenges of North Korea's Denuclearization and Regime Change."
[Photo by Institute for National Security Strategy]

Chairman Yoo suggested several directions for a nuclear offset strategy, including ▲NATO-style nuclear sharing or joint nuclear operation ▲redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula ▲permanent deployment of U.S. strategic assets armed with nuclear weapons near the Korean Peninsula waters ▲and independent nuclear development. He emphasized that "it is now time to begin full-scale and precise examination of which option is optimal among these."

However, regarding the possession of nuclear forces, he added the condition that "we should abandon our nuclear forces at the point when North Korea abandons its nuclear weapons." He also evaluated the Kim Jong-un regime as having "entered a truly frenzied nuclear race stage by hastening the operational deployment of tactical nuclear weapons aimed at our entire territory and continuously developing new nuclear forces."

In addition to possessing nuclear forces, Chairman Yoo proposed strategies to offset North Korea's nuclear weapons, including ▲equipping overwhelming deterrence with combined South Korea-U.S. forces ▲conducting powerful psychological warfare to instill winds of freedom and truth toward North Korea ▲and efforts to inform the international community about the worst human rights situation in North Korea, repeatedly emphasizing the need to carry out pressure on North Korea that can induce regime change.

Army soldiers inspecting loudspeaker equipment for North Korea [Photo by Yonhap News]

In particular, he proposed "strong psychological warfare against North Korea," stating, "Comprehensive psychological warfare against the highly closed North Korean regime will be a weapon stronger than nuclear weapons," and added, "As clarified through the history of wars from East to West, indirect strategy including psychological warfare plays the decisive role in determining the final outcome of war."

The psychological warfare, which Chairman Yoo called the "only asymmetric weapon with superiority over North Korea," is interpreted as suggesting leaflet drops or reactivation of loudspeakers. However, leaflet drops have been completely blocked by the North Korea Leaflet Prohibition Act enacted during the Moon Jae-in administration. The reactivation of loudspeakers was also reviewed following North Korea's drone intrusion in December last year, but the Ministry of Unification has reserved its authoritative interpretation until provocations that "violate territorial sovereignty" are repeated.

Additionally, in the first session dealing with 'Is North Korea's denuclearization possible, and what are feasible denuclearization measures,' expert presentations continued under the moderation of Nam Sung-wook, director of Korea University's Institute for Unification and Convergence Studies. In the roundtable on 'Directions for North Korea Policy for Change,' presentations were made under the chairmanship of former Minister of Unification Hong Yong-pyo, with speakers including Lee Jung-hoon, dean of Yonsei University's Graduate School of International Studies, and Lee Shin-hwa, North Korean Human Rights International Cooperation Ambassador.

Meanwhile, Yoo Sung-ok, former head of the National Intelligence Service's Psychological Warfare Unit, was appointed chairman in February. The Institute for National Security Strategy is a government-funded research institute under the National Intelligence Service that conducts research in diplomacy, security, and defense fields as requested by the government. It has also been hosting the NK Forum since 2016 to analyze North Korean affairs and seek desirable directions for unification and security policies.

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