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The Korean War began on the Korean Peninsula in June of 1950 and ended in July of 1953. It ended with the signing of an armistice which resulted in the combatants agreeing to stop fighting. While the fighting did stop, there was never a formal end to the war. Seventy years later, the state of war still continues.
Following the armistice, the peninsula was divided into North Korea(N.K.) and South Korea (S.K.). North Korea aligned itself with its ally, communist China and took their model of government. S.K. aligned itself with its ally, the U.S. and took its form of government. Since the war, tensions have risen and fallen between the two Koreas. In order to persuade S.K. not to develop nuclear weapons in response to the N.K. nuclear program, the U.S. promised to protect S.K. from N.K.
A prominent S.K. politician says that the country should arm itself with nuclear weapons amid increasing tensions with their neighbor, N.K.
Na Kyung-won is touted as a frontrunner to lead the country's official opposition. She recently proposed that her country “make preparations to develop nuclear weapons in a short period of time right now”.
In a Facebook post Na explained why she believes the country should abandon its historic policy of nuclear non-proliferation.
Her post read, “The history of international society shows that only ‘countries with the power’ to suppress external threats have survived. This is why we should think about nuclear weapons with all possibilities open now.”
Na said that her proposal would by ‘international sanity,’ and rely on ‘cooperation between Korea and the U.S.’ “We will make preparations to develop nuclear weapons in a short period of time right now will not just stop with words, but with actions.”
Na will stand for election as the leader of the People Power Party at the party convention in a couple of weeks on July 23.
In 1975, S.K. signed the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which prohibits signatory states from developing nuclear weapons.
S.K has continued to engage in nuclear research programs since that time although the country has maintained an official policy of non-proliferation.
Kim Jong Un has continually tried to develop an offensive nuclear capability in the face of international condemnation. This has prompted reconsideration of S.K.’s position.
In 2023, incumbent S.K. President Yoon Suk-Yeol suggested that it might be wise for the country to acquire its own nuclear arsenal if the situation with N.K did not improve.
In April 2023, the U.S. agreed to deploy nuclear-armed submarines to S.K., in exchange for abandoning plans to develop its own nuclear weapons.
The latest threats by the opposition come during a period of heightened tensions between the two states. There have been several altercations along their border.
Last week, N.K. state media reported that the regime had ‘successfully’ launched an advanced ballistic missile armed with a ‘super-large warhead.
According to the S.K. military, one of the N.K. missiles flew ‘erratically.’ It likely landed near the nation's capital of Pyongyang.
In mid-June of this year, satellite imagery showed several places in the demilitarized zone along the Korean border where N.K. has cleared large strips of land to construct what appears to be a wall.
In late June, a hypersonic missile fired by N.K. exploded in mid-flight over the Sea of Japan.