South Korea was shocked to learn of the extraordinary altercation between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, which was shocked by the incident.
Weeks after the meeting, National Assembly Representative Wi Sung-lac, a former top diplomat and mentor to Lee Jae-myung’s liberal Democratic Party leader, stated to me,” It was a very concerning and worrying advancement.” Everyone must be cautious. With the US, there is a period of uncertainty and uncertainty regarding the empire, North Korea, the nuclear issue, and tariffs.
These viewpoints were shared across the hall. With President Trump,” we anticipated that things would change – taxes, protectionism, America First, contextual politics, Ukraine, and the Middle East,” said a liberal former senior official. However, these changes in US legislation have been astounding in their speed and intensity.
Some of my Asian interlocutors watched the entire incident in the Oval Office, which continued to garner media attention and commentary days later. Many people were concerned about the validity of the US surveillance treaty’s commitment, which was signed shortly after the Korean War. That alliance is embodied in the promise of extended deterrence, the so-called nuclear overcoat that enables South Korea to counteract the threat from North Korea, alongside the presence of US military forces.
The growing discussion of the need to possess an independent nuclear weapons functionality is the most revealing sign of South Korea’s concern over the treatment of friends. Conservatives have long supported that option, but the discussion has since veered into liberal circles, where important voices are calling for South Korea to develop nuclear overhead, the ability to reprocess nuclear waste or promote uranium so that it may be able to develop atomic material for making bombs.
The Asian woman?
South Korea now hopes to emulate Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and present concessions from Trump on issues like industry, offer string investment, and shipbuilding cooperation to advance South Korea’s position as a valuable asset in a conflict with China.
South Korea currently lacks a functioning state pending the Constitutional Court’s immediate decision to remove Yoon Suk Yeol from office. However, whatever comes next, the North Korean leader may have to deal with Trump.
Assemblyman Wi believes that a clean and non-confrontational meet similar to that of Ishiba, which resulted in a joint declaration that reaffirmed the US-Japan ally in a manner similar to those made with the Joe Biden administration, is all they can hope for.
In an interview conducted at his National Assembly business, Wi claimed that” the joint declaration has a preemptive result.” ” Creating individual friendship between the two leaders won’t be easy, but we are going to attempt that,” he said. Japan, Korea, and Europe will have to consider this if we are unsuccessful.
South Korea has already been the target of metal tariffs, and it is extremely scared of a trade war. On the horizon is the risk of car tariffs and tariffs. However, Trump’s protection plan may raise even greater questions. The safety empire is being pressured particularly by conservatives, along with President Trump’s renewed attempt to engage North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The original senior official said,” We have to plan for the next chapter of Trump politics- negotiations with North Korea, US troops ‘ withdrawal from the peninsula, defense cost sharing,””. ” Possibly also to get ready for a strategic dialogue between the US, Russia, and North Korea. President Trump, in my opinion, regards North Korea as an empty project from the first Trump presidency. The worst must be anticipated, so we must plan.
Nuclear overhead
The USFK departure from South Korea and the US withdrawing of the nuclear umbrella are among the “worst” events.
In an op-ed published this month, previous US Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoon Young-kwan wrote,” there may come a day when it is difficult rely on the US for our protection,” despite how significant the U.S. ROK alliance is right now. ” We should strengthen our national security features, including potential nuclear abilities, and make with our own strength to deal with the punishment of North Korea,” he said in preparing for that day.
Liberals are more reluctant to express their support for nuclear weapons, but some have made a conscious effort to imitate the Japan unit with a complete fuel cycle ability. Technically, South Korea could recycle the energy from its power plants to make it suitable for the production of bomb-grade plutonium, or it could have the ability to enrich uranium up to levels that could be bomb-grade.
South Korea has long attempted to amend the 123 arrangement for nuclear cooperation with the US, which has limited its ability to have a complete gas cycle. The Biden administration’s closure just recently reaffirmed the agreement, which was in January.
Kyunghyang Shinmun, former minister of integration Lee Jong-seok, another nearby assistant to presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, argued in an important row published on March 4 in the liberal newspaper  that nuclear delay can be achieved with the acceptance of the United States.
” Our neighbors, China, Russia, and North Korea, our neighbors, are nuclear weapons state, and Japan has now demonstrated its potential,” Lee wrote. Due to the limitations imposed by the Korea-US Nuclear Energy Agreement, it is “pretty artificial” in this situation that a nuclear power, South Korea, is unable to reprocess or strengthen uranium.
Kim Joon-hyung, a Strengthening Korea Party lawmaker and previous top minister, says that others in Seoul oppose the 123 deal if the US reduces USFK causes on the peninsula.
Kim is a writer of the United States alliance, but she personally opposes nuclear overhead. He said,” I don’t agree with nuclear proliferation.” I don’t believe we have stability, even if we do possess nuclear weapons. Little disputes may become more frequent. The Asian Peninsula is very modest; modern, conventional weapons are sufficient. Japan did start using nuclear weapons, and ties with China and Russia will get worse.
Some are concerned about South Korea’s potential loneliness if it travels in this direction. During the Bill Clinton presidency, Cho Hyun, a former top diplomat and liberal foreign policy advisor, assisted in the 123 agreement. In Seoul, Cho told me,” The right wing thinks we should have our own nuclear development.” We don’t believe it to be realistic. Some progressives want to see the US start a full-fuel cycle like Japan. I oppose this.
Revising the 123 agreement may serve as a bargaining chip for South Korea as the Trump administration’s nuclear latency argument quickly gains support from progressive circles.
At least some inside the administration have been made aware of this, leading to reports that the U.S. Department of Energy might label South Korea as a” sensitive country,” a designation for nations that might be considering going nuclear, though likely not Trump-appointed officials.
This may just be the start of a lot of surprises for South Korea.
Daniel C. Sneider is a Stanford University lecturer in East Asian studies and a non-resident distinguished fellow at the Korea Economic Institute of America.
This article was first published by KEI’s The Peninsula. With permission, it can be republished.