A former floor leader of the ruling Saenuri party said Monday that South Korea should declare nuclear armament if North Korea conducts more nuclear tests.
Rep. Won Yoo-chul urged the government to shift its long-held denuclearization initiative and to pledge that it would develop nuclear weapons if Pyongyang runs a fifth nuclear test.
“We can no longer rely on the international community’s sanction to prompt changes in North Korea,” the fifth-term lawmaker said in a statement. “The Korean government can’t afford to live in fear of nuclear threat ands allow the North to do whatever it wants,” he said.
Rep. Won Yoo-chul (right) (Yonhap)
The long-term advocate for the nuclear armament of the South said that he would launch a forum to discuss government policy toward the North and its nuclear threat. The event is scheduled to take place on Aug. 8 and will gather experts and related officials.
Citing the United States presidential candidate Donald Trump’s election pledge to withdraw troops stationed in South Korea, Won underscored that national security was on the line and that nuclear armament is crucial to security.
It is not the first time that Won has suggested nuclear armament. During a parliamentary speech in February, the former whip urged the government to arm itself with nuclear weapons. His remark, however, was dismissed as “personal opinion” by then Saenuri Party leader Rep. Kim Moo-sung.
By Yeo Jun-suk (
jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)
