National Assembly audit on S. Korean Embassy in the U.S.: self-nuke armament vs. extended deterrence

[Anchor]

South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Hyeon-dong stated that when the new U.S. administration takes office in January next year, South Korea will push for the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel.

Although the South Korean Embassy in the U.S. explained that this was a general statement, it is interpreted as a sign of intent to secure nuclear potential amid rising demands for domestic nuclear armament.

This is a report from Washington's Kim Kyung-soo.

[Report]

The leaders of South Korea and the U.S. agreed to strengthen extended deterrence, including the frequent deployment of U.S. nuclear assets in South Korea, in last year's Washington Declaration.

However, South Korea's own nuclear armament is not yet on the table.

During the National Assembly audit of the South Korean Embassy in the U.S., there were repeated criticisms that the concept of extended deterrence is vague.

[Wi Sung-lac/Member of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee/Democratic Party: "(The nuclear threat from) North Korea that we face is unprecedented anywhere in the world. And domestically, nearly 70% of the population supports nuclear armament. Given this reality, there should have been more visible progress on the issue of extended deterrence than we have now...."]

There were even calls for the government to work harder behind the scenes for its own nuclear armament.

In particular, it was pointed out that Japan, unlike South Korea, can reprocess spent nuclear fuel, raising issues of fairness.

[Ihn Yo-han/Member of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee/People Power Party: "Japan can enrich plutonium as it pleases. We cannot enrich it freely. They say they have several tons of it. Japan could make thousands of nuclear bombs. I just cannot understand this unfairness."]

If South Korea is allowed to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, it would gain the potential to manufacture nuclear weapons, and Ambassador Cho Hyeon-dong responded that this would be a "priority diplomatic issue" after the new U.S. government takes office.

Following Ambassador Cho's surprising remarks, the South Korean Embassy in the U.S. explained that it was a 'general statement' and attempted to clarify, but it was interpreted as a sign that the current situation regarding North Korea's nuclear issue is urgent.

[Cho Hyeon-dong/South Korean Ambassador to the U.S.: "I believe that the voices of experts and politicians in both South Korea and the U.S. regarding domestic nuclear armament are indeed louder than in the past, as you mentioned."]

However, Ambassador Cho explained that the current position of the South Korean government is to strengthen extended deterrence, which is based on the premise of not pursuing independent nuclear armament.

This is Kim Kyung-soo from KBS News in Washington.