hankyoreh

By Park Byong-su, staff reporter

A former White House arms control coordinator said on Feb. 19 that he did not think it would be appropriate for South Korea to acquire nuclear weapons, as some have been calling for in the wake of North Korea’s recent nuclear test.

Gary Saymore, who served as National Security Council coordinator for weapons of mass destruction during the first term of the Barack Obama administration, made the comments while speaking to reporters at the Asan Nuclear Forum, an event held in Seoul by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

Noting that South Korea currently receives military protection under the US nuclear umbrella, Saymore told the reporters that if South Korea developed nuclear weapons, it would it would create a poor image with the international community.

He also dismissed arguments in favor of returning US tactical nuclear weapons to the peninsula, saying the presence of US deterrents such as submarines and missiles make it unnecessary in military terms.

However, he did say that he might discuss the matter with the US government if there was a strong consensus in South Korea on the need for a political guarantee of such weapons from the US.

Saymore, who currently heads the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, also dismissed the possibility of North Korea actually using its nuclear weapons, noting that it would risk a retaliatory attack from the US by doing so.

Responding to reports that US opinion on the North Korean nuclear issue has recently been shifting from denuclearization to nonproliferation, Saymore said that denuclearization was a matter directly linked to US national security, adding that North Korea’s nuclear program and missile development both ultimately target the US.

He went on to say that the US faces limited choices in its North Korea nuclear policy, noting that military force was not an option because of tension on the Korean Peninsula, sanctions were ineffective because North Korea is already internationally isolated and receiving protection from China, and diplomatic approaches have been unsuccessful.

Saymore expressed the view that the Obama administration would eventually pursue dialogue, but added that it would depend on North Korea being prepared to discuss denuclearization.

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