Lee Jae-jung: "Yoon Should Have Brought at Least a Nuclear Submarine... It's Meaningless"

"North Korea's Nuclear Threat Can Be Adequately Countered by Moon Administration's Nuclear Umbrella"

Lee Jae-jung, a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, evaluated the results of this summit as "meaningless."

On the 27th, Lee said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "I thought we would at least get nuclear submarines," adding, "What about Australia? They imported the construction itself and are currently operating them," expressing this view.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He said, "Even during the Moon Jae-in administration, there were various conditions that made it possible to demand such things, not as a strategic judgment to offer something, but due to circumstances," adding, "So there is nothing new in the outcome."

Lee stated, "In a situation where there is emotional public opinion about nuclear weapons, the Yoon Seok-youl administration might celebrate it, so to speak. I was concerned about that from a peaceful perspective," adding, "Perhaps conservative public opinion now would express it as disappointing."

He pointed out that both progressives and conservatives have points of disappointment. He said, "Conversely, it is a diplomatic game where the government did not achieve its intended goals and did not win," adding, "From the ruling party's perspective, and from conservatives who support the ruling party, it actually falls short of expectations."

Lee analyzed that the international trend is moving toward the view that 'nuclear enhancement is meaningless.' He said, "We talk about the strengthening of nuclear armament, but many think tanks confirm through the Russia-Ukraine war that nuclear deterrence no longer matters," adding, "In other words, Ukraine was not intimidated by Russia having nuclear weapons."

He continued, "This war confirmed that international military strategies to strengthen nuclear weapons are no longer meaningful, and in other words, it confirmed that nuclear weapons are weapons that cannot be used. This is the evaluation, and going against this international trend," he added.

Lee said, "What has been created so far is not significantly threatening," adding, "The words are very intense, and there is an illusion that if a nuclear submarine visits once or thrice, it would greatly help security, but the consultative body prepared now is nothing more than a so-called working group."

He holds the position that North Korea's nuclear threat can be sufficiently countered with the existing nuclear umbrella. Lee said, "The ROK-US alliance and the US nuclear umbrella are not that weak," adding, "I could not agree with the assessment that North Korea having nuclear weapons alone is a threatening factor to our country, which currently holds a strategically unshaken military superiority."

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