Policy Watch: Kim Moon-soo proposes nuclear latency to counter North Korean threats

People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo on Friday said if elected, he would pursue nuclear latency, a state of possessing technology and infrastructure necessary to build a nuclear weapon without actually owning one, to keep North Korean nuclear threats in check.

Kim said South Korea may need its own nuclear-powered submarine to counter North Korea's new ballistic missile submarine, and that he would propose implementing a North Atlantic Treaty Organization-style nuclear sharing with the US.

Kim added that Seoul would "never recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapons state" and that fortifying its alliance with the US was key to strengthening nuclear deterrence against Pyongyang.