nuclear-news

S.Korea’s Yoon to meet Biden as doubts grow over nuclear umbrella

By Hyonhee Shin, SEOUL, April 24 (Reuters) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol set off on Monday for the for the United States and a summit with President Joe Biden at a time of rare questioning in South Korea of an alliance that has guaranteed its security for decades.

………….. as North Korea races ahead with the development of nuclear weapons and missiles to carry them, there are growing questions in South Korea about the relying on “extended deterrence”, in essence the American nuclear umbrella, and calls, even from some senior members of Yoon’s party, for South Korea to develop its own nuclear weapons.

A recent poll by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies showed that more than 54% of respondents believed the U.S. would not risk its safety to protect its Asian ally.

More than 64% supported South Korea developing its own nuclear weapons, with about 33% opposed.

Yoon has been pushing to boost South Korea’s say in operating the U.S. extended deterrence but exactly what that might entail has not been spelt out…………… https://www.reuters.com/world/skoreas-yoon-meet-biden-doubts-grow-over-nuclear-umbrella-2023-04-24/

April 25, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, South Korea, weapons and war