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

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.

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.

But the allies’ push to strengthen that deterrence is the “easiest, most effective and peaceful” way to counter the North’s threats, he said.

Intensifying strategic rivalry between the United States and China and the Ukraine war have triggered a sweeping shift in the post-Cold War paradigm, putting South Korea near the centre of the turmoil and complicating its calculations, Shin said.

“Even in Northeast Asia, there are forces who are openly seeking to change the status quo by force, and we are at the forefront, directly affected,” Shin said, speaking at his office in Seoul, the South Korean capital.

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South Korea responded by warning that it could consider arming