ID :
209313
Sun, 09/25/2011 - 18:48
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/209313
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea's nuke ambition lasted until 1978: CIA documents
By Lee Chi-dong
WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea pursued the development of nuclear weapons until at least 1978, contrary to many studies that found the scheme ended in 1976, according to recently declassified documents from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
At that time, the U.S. concluded that the Park Chung-hee military regime formally kept the ambition alive for domestic politics and to pressure Washington, the documents, dated Sept. 5, 1978, showed.
"Recent public discussion of the nuclear weapons option appears primarily designed to reassure the Korean people that Seoul is examining all necessary steps to strengthen the country's defenses," the CIA said in its East Asia Review.
"Additionally, it may be tailored to pressure the U.S. to rethink plans for withdrawing troops and weapons from Korea," it added.
The revelations provide "important new information" on the Park administration's efforts and on the U.S. response to his continuing program, said Moon Jung-in, professor at Yonsei University in Seoul, and Peter Hayes, executive director of the Nautilus Institute. The two work for Global Asia, a quarterly English magazine on international affairs.
Many studies showed that, in late 1974, the Park government authorized a program to develop nuclear weapons technology but it suspended the entire project in 1976 under immense U.S. pressure and the risk of severe damage to the alliance.
"What is less well known is that this proliferation activity continued after 1976, partly in response to the withdrawal of U.S. nuclear weapons along with the 2nd Infantry Division," Moon and Hayes wrote in their joint analysis of the CIA dossier.
The CIA believed that Park's nuclear drive since early 1977, while tacitly supporting public discussions of such a nuclear option, was clearly "tied to the U.S. troop withdrawal plan."
The agency said there were no signs of fresh research and development activity with regard to the nuclear weapons program.
"It is worth noting that the CIA's relatively relaxed interpretation of Park's nuclear program in 1978 is contrary to the widespread rumor in South Korea that the CIA might have orchestrated his assassination on Oct. 26, 1979, in order to put a halt to his nuclear ambitions," Moon and Hayes said.
They said the situation in the late 1970s provides lessons for South Koreans today amid on-again and off-again public debates over whether Seoul should seek to reintroduce U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to the peninsula or it should pursue its own nuclear bombs to counter North Korea's nuclear threats.
"In essence, Park strove for political-symbolic nuclear status rather than a meaningful nuclear force and the effort backfired in South Korea's face. The same could be said today of proponents of South Korean nuclear weapons," they noted.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea pursued the development of nuclear weapons until at least 1978, contrary to many studies that found the scheme ended in 1976, according to recently declassified documents from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
At that time, the U.S. concluded that the Park Chung-hee military regime formally kept the ambition alive for domestic politics and to pressure Washington, the documents, dated Sept. 5, 1978, showed.
"Recent public discussion of the nuclear weapons option appears primarily designed to reassure the Korean people that Seoul is examining all necessary steps to strengthen the country's defenses," the CIA said in its East Asia Review.
"Additionally, it may be tailored to pressure the U.S. to rethink plans for withdrawing troops and weapons from Korea," it added.
The revelations provide "important new information" on the Park administration's efforts and on the U.S. response to his continuing program, said Moon Jung-in, professor at Yonsei University in Seoul, and Peter Hayes, executive director of the Nautilus Institute. The two work for Global Asia, a quarterly English magazine on international affairs.
Many studies showed that, in late 1974, the Park government authorized a program to develop nuclear weapons technology but it suspended the entire project in 1976 under immense U.S. pressure and the risk of severe damage to the alliance.
"What is less well known is that this proliferation activity continued after 1976, partly in response to the withdrawal of U.S. nuclear weapons along with the 2nd Infantry Division," Moon and Hayes wrote in their joint analysis of the CIA dossier.
The CIA believed that Park's nuclear drive since early 1977, while tacitly supporting public discussions of such a nuclear option, was clearly "tied to the U.S. troop withdrawal plan."
The agency said there were no signs of fresh research and development activity with regard to the nuclear weapons program.
"It is worth noting that the CIA's relatively relaxed interpretation of Park's nuclear program in 1978 is contrary to the widespread rumor in South Korea that the CIA might have orchestrated his assassination on Oct. 26, 1979, in order to put a halt to his nuclear ambitions," Moon and Hayes said.
They said the situation in the late 1970s provides lessons for South Koreans today amid on-again and off-again public debates over whether Seoul should seek to reintroduce U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to the peninsula or it should pursue its own nuclear bombs to counter North Korea's nuclear threats.
"In essence, Park strove for political-symbolic nuclear status rather than a meaningful nuclear force and the effort backfired in South Korea's face. The same could be said today of proponents of South Korean nuclear weapons," they noted.
