Lee Jong-seop "Detection of North Korean Nuclear Torpedoes Possible... Nuclear Armament Theory Differs from Public Opinion and Policy"

North Korea's Nuclear Torpedo Tsunami... "Inappropriate to Compare with Russia's Poseidon"
"Hope and Policy Implementation Differ" on Nuclear Armament Public Opinion
Presidential Office Moves to Yongsan... 240 Billion Won Needed Before JCS Relocation

Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop recently dismissed concerns about North Korea's publicly revealed underwater nuclear torpedo, stating, "Our military has the capability to detect it." Regarding the overwhelming public opinion in favor of independent nuclear armament, he emphasized the existing policy of strengthening extended deterrence, saying, "There is a difference between the people's hopes and the actual policies being pursued."

On the 6th, during the National Assembly's National Defense Committee plenary session, in response to a question from Song Ok-ju of the Democratic Party of Korea about whether there are countermeasures against North Korea's recently unveiled 'nuclear unmanned underwater attack vehicle,' Minister Lee replied, "We fundamentally have the capability to detect such underwater infiltrations."

Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop is responding to current issue questions at the National Assembly National Defense Committee plenary session held on the morning of the 6th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also firmly stated that it is inappropriate to equate North Korea's 'Haeil' with Russia's underwater drone-type nuclear torpedo 'Poseidon.' Earlier, North Korea announced on the 24th of last month that it conducted submersion and underwater explosion tests of the nuclear unmanned underwater attack vehicle 'Haeil.' At that time, the military's initial assessment suggested that North Korea appeared to have referenced Russia's 'Poseidon,' which can be equipped with a nuclear warhead.

Furthermore, Minister Lee drew a clear line between public support for 'nuclear armament' and policy implementation, repeatedly expressing opposition to nuclear armament. In response to a question from Lee Chae-ik of the People Power Party about public opinion on nuclear armament, he said, "I believe that the people's hopes and the actual policies being pursued should be viewed differently," "Just because many people want it does not mean that significant policies should follow suit, as that presents another issue."

Regarding President Yoon Seok-yeol's mention of 'tactical nuclear redeployment,' he said, "I think the background of his remarks was to express the seriousness of the North Korean nuclear threat and to emphasize that we must thoroughly prepare for it." President Yoon had mentioned in the Ministry of National Defense's briefing in January this year that if North Korea's provocations escalate, "South Korea may deploy tactical nuclear weapons or possess its own nuclear arsenal."

Underwater explosion test scene of the nuclear torpedo 'Haeil,' which North Korea claims to be a 'nuclear unmanned underwater attack vehicle' [Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister Lee indicated plans to discuss countermeasures against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats through a senior-level trilateral security meeting among South Korea, the United States, and Japan later this month. He also anticipated that additional measures to strengthen the credibility of extended deterrence would emerge at the upcoming South Korea-U.S. summit at the end of this month. He said, "I believe security will be an important agenda item at the South Korea-U.S. summit," adding, "Based on what has been announced, there will be further discussions regarding the execution of extended deterrence."

Additionally, Minister Lee revealed that 240 billion won is estimated to be needed for relocating the Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters, which is being pursued following the presidential office's move to Yongsan. In response to a related question from Kim Byung-joo of the Democratic Party, he answered, "After preliminary research, there were additional requests from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, so we are considering about 240 billion won, but to be clear, nothing has been decided yet."

When Kim pointed out that this amount is for the main building construction costs and does not include expenses related to support units, Minister Lee explained, "Regarding support units, there is the Capital Defense Command (SuBangSa), so we are reviewing how and where to operate these support units. Once these decisions are made, they will be reflected accordingly."

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