DEUTSCHE WELLE

APLN member Eunjung Lim was quoted in Deutsche Welle, discussing the debate over nuclear weapons acquisition in South Korea. She argued that an independent nuclear deterrent in South Korea could trigger a domino effect in the region and undermine the nuclear nonproliferation regime.

Lim Eun-jung, an associate professor of international studies at Kongju National University, told DW that many South Koreans believe they were blocked in the past from developing an atomic deterrent by the United States, which wanted to avoid nuclear proliferation.

“North Korea has continued to polish its nuclear capability, especially since the failed 2019 summit in Hanoi, and there are people who believe it cannot be balanced by the conventional weapons we have in the South,” she said.

“They believe we have to balance the North’s nuclear weapons with our own because the alliance with the US is not a 100% guarantee against the North launching a nuclear attack,” she added.

Lim, however, said she was personally opposed to an independent nuclear deterrent in the South “because the Korea-US alliance is enough to effectively deter the North from using nuclear weapons.”

“I also fear that it could cause a domino effect on other countries in the region and the collapse of the nuclear nonproliferation regime,” she said.

The original article can be accessed here.