N. K. nuke test sparks debate on S. Korea nuke armament

SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- Some experts and conservative politicians in South Korea have called for creating the country's own nuclear armaments for self-defense since North Korea's latest nuclear test, spawning a row over its feasibility. The claims by several analysts and lawmakers from the ruling Saenuri Party are a response to North Korea's claims of a successful test of a hydrogen bomb last week, insisting it was an act of nuclear deterrence against Washington's hostile policy toward it. South Korea has maintained a denuclearization policy since 1992 when the two Koreas issued a joint declaration to keep the Korean Peninsula nuclear-free. The North violated the accord by conducting nuke tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013. The North's recent fourth nuclear test has reignited a debate over whether Seoul should stick to its denuclearization policy in the face of the North's evolving nuclear threats or build up the country's own nuclear armaments. The leadership of the ruling party was at the front of igniting the row, claiming that Seoul's policy on North Korea's nuclear weapons program should be reviewed from scratch. "It is the time for us to have a peaceful nuclear program for self-defense in the face of North Korea's terror and destructive nuke weapons," Won Yoo-cheol, the party's floor leader, said Thursday, a day after the North's nuke test. He said that it is desirable to resolve the North's nuclear issue through dialogue, but the North's latest nuke test has raised the question over whether Seoul should keep its current strategy in handling Pyongyang's nuclear problem. The six-party denuclearization talks have been the main plan for resolving the North's nuke issue. But the talks involving the two Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia have been dormant since 2008 when the North walked away from the negotiating table. The government immediately dismissed the ruling party's call, saying it runs counter to the principle of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute, echoed a view by the politicians. "If South Korea possesses nuclear weapons, the country can cut the massive defense budget needed to buy conventional weapons over the long haul," Cheong said. "There is the high possibility that the North would succeed in developing H-bombs within several years. It is the time to seek a fundamental change to Seoul's security policy, beyond stopgap measures against the North's nuke threats." Experts say that there is a slim chance that their claims can be realized, given that South Korea is a member country to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which bans non-nuclear states from newly possessing nuke devices. The North walked out of the treaty in 1993. They also said the ruling party's call may be aimed at setting the stage for bringing back U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to the peninsula. In 1991, Washington withdrew tactical nuclear weapons deployed at army bases for its 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea. Instead, the U.S. provides a "nuclear umbrella" to deter the North Korean threat. "If the U.S. does not accept Seoul's move to develop nuclear weapons, it should take actions such as the redeployment of its tactical nuclear weapons to the peninsula," said Kim Eul-dong, a ruling party lawmaker. Opposition party lawmakers and many experts on North Korea have expressed opposition to the idea of Seoul's nuclear armament as a tit-for-tat response to the North's reckless behavior. "The South's possible nuke armament only justifies North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons. In addition, an arms race for nukes in Northeast Asia would inevitably occur," said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul. He also added that South Korea would undergo severe pain if it was slapped with international sanctions due to nuclear weapons, as the local economy heavily depends on exports for economic growth. sooyeon@yna.co.kr (END)