A former U.S. State Department official has pointed out that calls for nuclear armament within South Korea could make negotiations between Seoul and Washington over nuclear-powered submarines more difficult.
Elliott Kang, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, met with reporters at the Jeju Forum held at the Haevichi Hotel in Jeju on Wednesday. "From a political and diplomatic standpoint, I support Korea's pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines," he said, while stressing that "the moment arguments emerge within Korea that it should possess nuclear weapons, the negotiations become complicated."
Kang also said that the timing for introducing nuclear-powered submarines through South Korea-U.S. security consultations and producing results in bilateral nuclear cooperation "could take longer than a year." This runs counter to the government's outlook that tangible results could be achieved within this year.
"The South Korea-U.S. civilian nuclear cooperation framework itself requires significant changes, and the conclusion of the bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement 10 years ago took several years," he said. "The public also needs to be patient, and the government must pursue negotiations swiftly while also being patient."
Kang further said, "AUKUS (the security alliance among the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia) involves full engagement by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and applies the highest level of safeguards (nuclear verification activities)." He added, "If Korea commits to the same level of nonproliferation standards, the United States will not hesitate on nuclear submarine cooperation."
At the forum, an analysis was also presented that, although North Korea has recently been focused on cementing its status as a nuclear power, the possibility of it engaging in denuclearization negotiations has not disappeared.
Alex Wong, former Principal Deputy National Security Adviser at the U.S. White House National Security Council (NSC), said during a session on "Approaches for Engagement with North Korea" that "for North Korea, nuclear weapons are not an end in themselves but merely a means for regime survival." He stressed that "the ultimate goal of negotiations with North Korea, the 'complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,' must be maintained." He further forecast that "North Korea may seek to enter into dialogue with the Donald Trump administration if its relationship with Russia changes after the war in Ukraine ends."
