Park Ji-won "Too US-centered... Should not provoke Russia and China"
As President Yoon Suk-yeol's foreign media interview has provoked strong reactions from Russia and China, political interest is rising ahead of next week's South Korea-US summit. Within the domestic political sphere, voices are growing louder demanding the acquisition of measures such as 'spent nuclear fuel reprocessing' to respond to North Korea's nuclear threat. Expectations are also increasing that a 'nuclear sharing' plan, one step above extended deterrence, will be discussed. However, opposition parties express concerns about excessively aligning with the US and provoking backlash from Russia and China.
On the 21st, Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "Let's make (nuclear sharing) more practical and conduct regular joint exercises so that it can be properly utilized," adding, "If that happens, even without bringing nuclear weapons into the Korean Peninsula, it will have a better effect."
The Korean-style nuclear sharing proposed by Ahn involves South Korea jointly operating US strategic assets such as submarines and fighter jets, which, like NATO, can effectively operate nuclear weapons without having them stationed on its territory. On the 18th, he also stated on his social media that the strategic goal of the summit should be to "prioritize the promotion of a creative ‘South Korea-US nuclear sharing,’ the most effective form of extended deterrence, to protect the Republic of Korea from the North Korean nuclear threat."
He also emphasized the need to secure spent nuclear fuel reprocessing and nuclear-powered submarines. Ahn said, "One way to counter the advancement of North Korea's nuclear capabilities is to be allowed to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, as Japan currently does," adding, "Looking at North Korea's current nuclear weapons and SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles), the only way to respond is by possessing nuclear-powered submarines. Therefore, at least these two must be obtained."
To enable spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, revision of the South Korea-US Atomic Energy Agreement is necessary. Tae Young-ho, also a member of the People Power Party, raised his voice on the 10th during a party supreme council meeting, saying, "President Yoon should review the revision of the South Korea-US Atomic Energy Agreement during his visit to the US."
The reason for the focus on the outcome of this South Korea-US summit is also linked to President Yoon's recent Reuters interview. Although he set conditions, he hinted at a shift in stance by stating 'no lethal weapons support,' which is analyzed as a strategic move to secure a strengthened extended deterrence plan ahead of the summit. Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won said on YTN's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' that "this was done to receive various nuclear supports from the US, and the statement about supplying weapons to Ukraine was made to achieve that outcome."
However, concerns about worsening relations with Russia due to this have also been raised. On the 21st, Oh Seon-geun, Secretary General of the Korean Business Association in Russia, said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' "If we become a hostile country, it could lead to the freezing of assets of local companies," adding, "(Korean residents) are facing not just simple anxiety but the biggest concern is that they cannot predict tomorrow."
Former Director Park said, "When the Ukraine war eventually ends or reaches a ceasefire, we will need to import crude oil, natural gas, and grain from Russia, and this is a very significant issue," adding, "our diplomacy is too heavily skewed toward the US, and while the South Korea-US alliance is important, excessively provoking Russia or China this time is not proper diplomacy."
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