South Korean nuclear arms would cause ‘huge crack’ in US ties, roil economy: defence chief

Shin Won-sik said having a home-grown nuclear arsenal risked devastating fallout to Seoul’s diplomatic standing and economy

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South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik. Photo: AP

Published: 2:05pm, 8 Aug 2024Updated: 10:14am, 9 Aug 2024

South Korea could rupture its US alliance and shock financial markets if it started building nuclear weapons, Defence Minister Shin Won-sik said, dismissing renewed domestic calls for the country’s own arsenal to deter North Korea.

As the neighbouring North rapidly expands nuclear and missile capabilities, more South Korean officials and members of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s conservative ruling party have called in recent months for developing nuclear weapons.

The prospect of another term for former US president Donald Trump, who complained about the cost of the US military presence in South Korea and launched unprecedented talks with the North, has further fuelled the debate.

But Shin, a former three-star army general who also served as a lawmaker in Yoon’s party, said having a home-grown nuclear arsenal risked devastating fallout to the South’s diplomatic standing and economy, akin to what analysts called Black Monday this week for the stock market’s worst losses since 2008.

“You’ll face a huge crack in the US alliance, and if we withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, it would bring various penalties, starting with an immediate shock in our financial market,” he said in an interview.

Shin acknowledged that the debate among politicians and foreign policy experts was a sign that many South Koreans were still anxious about American extended deterrence – the US military capability, especially its nuclear forces.