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SKorea reaffirms it seeks no atomic weapons
Seoul (AFP) July 19, 2009 South Korea's defence chief Lee Sang-Hee reaffirmed Sunday his country would not seek to deploy atomic weapons again on its soil despite North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Defence Minister Lee said South Korea's alliance with the United States, which includes the Washington-backed "nuclear umbrella" for Seoul, would be able to thwart any potential atomic attack from North Korea. Under the "umbrella" arrangement a nuclear power pledges to defend an ally that is not armed with atomic weapons. Since Pyongyang's second nuclear test in May, some South Korean conservatives have urged Seoul to seek its own atomic arsenal for self-defence, calls that Lee rejected again on Sunday. "Since joining the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1975, the government has constantly pushed for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and will continue to do so," Lee told state-run television KTV. "Some people say that nuclear weapons should be redeployed on the Korean Peninsula but we should think carefully about it." Seoul and Washington say US nuclear weapons were all withdrawn from South Korean soil in 1991, one year before the two Koreas agreed to keep the peninsula free of nuclear weapons. But Pyongyang has since broken the 1992 accord, conducting two underground atomic bomb tests in 2006 and on May 25 this year. The North's provocation resulted in a series of UN condemnations and sanctions. South Korea and the United States agreed in June to bolster security steps, including a written US "nuclear umbrella" pledge. Lee said Sunday he was confident that US-South Korean allied troops were capable of defeating North Korea in the event of war. "The US-promised extended deterrence, including the nuclear umbrella for South Korea, aims... to force North Korea to give up its nuclear development and not to dream such a futile dream," Lee said. Lee also said Seoul would be able to incapacitate Pyongyang's long-range artillery near the border by bombing the North's tunneled bases with self-propelled howitzers, rocket launchers and air power. The North has threatened to reduce Seoul, just 50 kilometres (31 miles) away from the border, to "a sea of flames" or "ashes" with artillery. "North Korea says Seoul is just 50 kilometres away, but Pyongyang is also merely 150 kilometres away. There is no difference in terms of strike impacts," Lee said. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
NKorea faces worst crisis since 1994: Seoul think tankSeoul (AFP) July 17, 2009 North Korea faces its worst crisis in 15 years due to international tensions over its nuclear weapons and uncertainty about the health of leader Kim Jong-Il, a South Korean think tank said Friday. The Korea Development Institute said in a report that any breakthrough in the nuclear stand-off will be difficult, with the communist state insisting on being treated as a nuclear-armed state. ... read more |
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