British daily newspaper "Decisive point of discussion on South Korea's nuclear armament in 2025"

2025 could be a decisive year for the flow of South Korean nuclear armament discussions, the British daily The Times reported.

The Times predicted on the 23rd local time that discussions on nuclear armament were taboo in South Korea in the past, but now the majority of Koreans support their own nuclear development.

The newspaper analyzed that President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election, who is skeptical about the traditional alliance with South Korea, became an opportunity to spread a sense of crisis in South Korea.

President-elect Trump called South Korea a "money machine" and argued that South Korea should pay $10 billion in defense costs and 14 trillion won in our money.

Accordingly, there is a possibility that the U.S. military in South Korea may be reduced or withdrawn in connection with the defense cost sharing issue.

However, since South Korea is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the NPT, it is not only exposed to international criticism, but it can also undermine relations with the United States.

The United States must stop providing military aid to South Korea under the Glen Act, which mandates sanctions against NPT members if they develop nuclear weapons.

Experts pointed out that if they are sanctioned by the U.S. without nuclear armament, they could also be exposed to the risk of a preemptive attack from North Korea.