North Korea Gets Russian Missiles as South Korea’s Nuclear Hopes Are Squashed by the U.S.

A senior official from the U.S. State Department stated that North Korea has completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test. This increases the nuclear threat towards South Korea, yet the officials clearly opposed South Korea’s own nuclear armament. President-elect Donald Trump has appointed a key figure in North Korea-U.S. relations to a senior national security position, signaling a potential restart of dialogue between the two countries. North Korea has reportedly received air defense equipment and anti-aircraft missiles from Russia in exchange for deploying troops. This development has raised concerns for South Korea’s security, especially with reports of North Korean soldiers sighted in three regions of Ukraine.

Alexandra Bell, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Nonproliferation, remarked that North Korea has prepared its nuclear testing site for a potential seventh nuclear test and is only awaiting a political decision. She added that the U.S. defense commitment to South Korea remains ironclad and that the objective is the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. However, many experts argue that denuclearization is an outdated concept. With North Korea having completed its nuclear weapons system, some in U.S. political circles believe denuclearization has effectively failed. Neither Trump nor Kamala Harris mentioned denuclearization during their respective presidential campaigns.

Bell also expressed opposition to South Korea’s independent nuclear armament, dismissing a poll indicating that 66 percent of South Koreans support nuclear armament. She claimed that the survey question was framed in a way that encouraged support for nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, Trump is set to appoint Alex Wong, who was involved in North Korea diplomacy during previous U.S.-North Korea talks, as Deputy National Security Adviser. Trump noted that Wong assisted in his summit negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, hinting at the possibility of another meeting with Kim during his second term. With South Korea’s nuclear ambitions constrained and the prospect of U.S.-North Korea meetings on the horizon, South Korea’s security faces a potential crisis.

A crucial lesson regarding nuclear weapons lies in the betrayal of denuclearization. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine possessed over 1,800 nuclear warheads. After receiving security and territorial assurances from Russia, the U.S., and the U.K., Ukraine signed the Budapest Memorandum in 1994 and transferred its nuclear arsenal to Russia. However, Russia violated this agreement, forcibly annexing Crimea in 2014 and invading mainland Ukraine in February 2022. Trump appears prepared to push for a ceasefire under the current conditions. Ukraine’s decision to trust security guarantees and relinquish its nuclear weapons proved to be a catastrophic mistake.

South Korea faces a similarly urgent situation. North Korea already possesses various nuclear weapons, posing a constant threat. Although the U.S. has promised a nuclear umbrella for South Korea, there is no guarantee that it would protect South Korea if a nuclear attack hit cities like Los Angeles or New York. We cannot demand such assurances. Hence, the emerging alternative is South Korea’s own nuclear deterrent and armament against North Korea. Ukraine has firmly stated that if Western nations, including the U.S., cut off military support, it would have no choice but to develop nuclear weapons. This is not just a foreign issue; it directly concerns us and is a matter of national survival.