Ha Tae-kyung: "Washington Declaration, the UK's Role in Asia-Pacific... Surpassing Japan"

Rep. Ha Tae-kyung of the People Power Party evaluated the 'Washington Declaration,' the result of the South Korea-US summit, as establishing the US alliance that surpasses Japan in the Asia-Pacific region.

On the 2nd, on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' in response to the host's question about the meaning of the Washington Declaration, Rep. Ha said, "There are six countries in the Asia-Pacific region that have military alliances with the US, but South Korea is the only country where nuclear consultations have become possible."

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As a result of the Washington Declaration, the two countries agreed to operate a Nuclear Consultation Group (NCG), which is unique in the Asia-Pacific region. He said, "Until now, Japan has been the closest ally to the US in the Asia-Pacific region. That has been reversed," adding, "Japan never had nuclear consultations, and in the past, nuclear consultations did not exist."

In response to the host's question, "Is the Washington Declaration the maximum agreement that can be drawn regarding nuclear issues between South Korea and the US?" he said, "From the US perspective, it might be," and predicted that if North Korea deploys tactical nuclear weapons in actual combat, South Korea could also deploy tactical nuclear weapons in coordination with the US.

Rep. Ha said, "If North Korea uses tactical nukes, we cannot just use strategic (nuclear weapons)," adding, "We need to see how much North Korea invests in tactical nukes and how their technology develops, but at the current pace, it might be possible within about five years." Tactical nuclear weapons have relatively less destructive power, while strategic nuclear weapons have tremendous destructive power capable of wiping out an entire city.

However, the future operation of the NCG remains a challenge. Rep. Ha said, "Under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, this will work well," and added, "As I mentioned before, the reason the US has been passive about the Nuclear Consultation Group is because they are reluctant to share nuclear information."

He explained, "Nuclear information essentially reveals where the nukes are located, which makes it a target for North Korea. Therefore, it is only shared with governments that are absolutely trusted," adding, "But in our case, with changes in administration and similarly in the US, Democratic Party governments have not been trusted that much."

Rep. Ha emphasized, "Depending on the trust relationship with the government, there can be differences in the information that can be shared," and said, "For example, the UK is such a country. In fact, we have become the UK of the Asia-Pacific region. In the NATO alliance, the most important country is the UK."

He took this opportunity to raise his voice for South Korea to join the Group of Eight (G8) countries. To do so, he said, South Korea must also support Ukraine with weapons. Rep. Ha said, "Whether we can become a G8 country depends on how well we utilize this opportunity," adding, "To become a G8 country, we need to make significant international contributions."

In 2020, President Trump attempted to expand the G7 to the G8, but it was blocked due to opposition from Japan and Germany. Rep. Ha said, "But now, I think it is difficult for Japan to oppose," and added, "As for Germany, to persuade them, I think we need to support Ukraine with weapons," emphasizing, "To become a G8-level country, it is necessary to support Ukraine at a level similar to the UK, France, and Germany."

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