"The U.S. will not help South Korea at its own expense"...Concern over expert 'North Korea's military power' [Now News]

2024.12.26. AM 08:11
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Chung Sung-jang, director of the Korean Peninsula Strategy Center at the Sejong Institute, explained the difference in military power between the two Koreas, and said South Korea has an overwhelming advantage with South Korea ranking fifth in the world and North Korea 36th in terms of conventional weapons.

However, he evaluated that "South Korea is no match for North Korea" in the comprehensive military force, including nuclear weapons.

In a recent interview with Yonhap News, he pointed out, "Nuclear weapons are absolute weapons that can evaporate the city itself, and South Korea's representative Hyunmoo missiles cannot be compared to North Korea's tactical nuclear warheads."

In particular, if North Korea attacks certain areas of South Korea with tactical nuclear weapons, it is unlikely that the U.S. will take nuclear retaliation to defend South Korea while putting its mainland at risk.

"It is difficult to be sure that the U.S. president will save South Korea at the expense of hundreds of thousands and millions of his citizens," he said. "The surest way to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula is to build nuclear arms on South Korea's own and achieve a nuclear balance with North Korea."

He stressed that about 70% of South Koreans agree to have their own nuclear armament, especially using leaders who view South Korea's nuclear armament in an open manner, such as U.S. President-elect Trump.

Meanwhile, North Korea has been increasing its military threat by deploying tactical nuclear weapons to the South Korean border since 2022, and the U.S. tactical nuclear weapons have been withdrawn since 1991.

Chung pointed out the situation and added that South Korea should quickly come up with countermeasures.

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