Pomp and Circumstance (and Nuclear Subs) For Yoon
I was at the White House yesterday for the State Arrival Ceremony of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to call on him and President Biden to de-escalate tensions and resume diplomacy with the goal of ending the Korean War.
While in office, President Yoon has inflamed tensions with North Korea (and China), focusing on strengthening a military alliance with Japan at the expense of justice for Koreans who were subjected to Japanese colonialism. We’re on a dangerous trajectory, and the answer to this is not more weapons, military spending, or threats. On the South Korean side, the answer is not nuclearization, which will only further escalate tensions.
While it’s good to hear that South Korea said it will maintain its non-nuclear status, the measures established yesterday under the “Washington Declaration,” including more regular stationing of nuclear-armed submarines in South Korea and involving ROK in strategic planning for nuclear contingencies, will only continue to inflame tensions. More to come on this!
You can read more in my piece in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists from March 2023 for more on why a peace-first, diplomatic approach is necessary to end the North Korean nuclear crisis.
This year marks 70 years of the US-ROK alliance, which should be built on mutual benefit instead of preparation for war. It also marks 70 years of the signing of the armistice agreement that ended hostilities of the Korean War but was always intended to be replaced with a peace agreement. It’s time to end the Korean War with a peace agreement. 73 years of war is enough!
Gonna share this!
Hi Colleen,
Since it's creation, the goal of the North Korean regime has been to unite the peninsula under their rule. The conflict is persistent because that goal remains in place.
If I understand correctly, the current strategy of the North Koreans is to build up their arsenal so as to detach the US from South Korea. Their reasoning, which appears sound to me, seems to be that no US president is going to risk American cities to defend a far away nation most Americans probably can't find on a map. As example, consider the domestic controversy over recent American wars, where no such threat existed.
This analysis is obviously debatable. But if there is any truth in it, what do we expect the South Koreans to do? How are they to maintain deterrence, if it's true that they can't rely on American nukes once the North Koreans are in a position to hit American cities?
For future articles, I'd be very interested in your analysis of the relationship between China and North Korea. To what degree, if any, is North Korea a proxy for China?
Thanks!