Yoon Geon-young: "Nuclear Retaliation Attack Means Korean Peninsula Annihilation... Dangerous Idea"

Yoon Gun-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized the 'Washington Declaration,' which codifies that the United States would carry out nuclear retaliation if North Korea attacks South Korea with nuclear weapons, calling it a "mutual destruction of the Korean Peninsula" and a "dangerous idea."

On the 27th, on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' Rep. Yoon said, "(At the South Korea-US summit) it seems that nuclear retaliation against a North Korean nuclear attack was also discussed, which is a very dangerous idea," and questioned, "Isn't everything over on the Korean Peninsula the moment a nuclear attack occurs?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At the South Korea-US summit held on the 26th (local time), the two countries agreed to codify that the US would retaliate if South Korea is attacked by North Korean nuclear weapons, and to establish a regular consultative body on extended deterrence called the 'Nuclear Consultative Group' (NCG) to discuss extended deterrence.

However, Rep. Yoon criticized, "On the small landmass of the Korean Peninsula, if a nuclear attack occurs, there is no place where some live and others die. Everyone dies, and measures should be taken in advance to prevent a nuclear attack from happening. What is the point of stopping it and then retaliating?" He added, "They say they will regularly deploy strategic assets such as nuclear submarines, but nothing in this world is free. Who will pay for that money?"

The ruling party had previously advocated for independent nuclear armament, and if that was impossible, they insisted that at least the phrase 'the US will retaliate against North Korea's nuclear attack' should be included. According to Rep. Yoon, the opposition party also opposes this. He said, "nuclear retaliation means mutual destruction of the Korean Peninsula," and regarding the ruling party's advocacy for 'independent nuclear armament,' he added, "Independent nuclear armament is practically close to zero possibility from the start. It was a discussion based on an unrealistic plan."

At this summit, the level of interest shown in issues such as lethal weapon support to Ukraine and the Taiwan issue, which the opposition party was concerned about, remained at a fundamental level. Rep. Yoon said, "Considering the South Korea-US summit itself, it is fortunate that no controversies were created," and added, "I think certain measures were taken before the visit to the US through the president's interviews to avoid controversy before the summit."

He pointed out, "For example, regarding the Taiwan Strait, President Yoon made remarks, and regarding weapon support to Ukraine, the president opened the possibility through media interviews before the summit," calling this "a very serious problem."

When asked by the host to give an overall evaluation of this summit, Rep. Yoon said, "If I were to evaluate it in one sentence, 'an empty cart makes the most noise' seems to fit perfectly," and added, "What we gave is clearly visible, but what we received is not properly seen. In short, it feels like giving cash and receiving a promissory note, which seems like a losing deal."

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