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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Senior politician calls for S. Korea to have nuclear weapons |
| 2016-02-01 |
| A former leader of South Korea's ruling party demanded Sunday the government re-introduce tactical nuclear weapons in a bid to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. Chung Mong-joon, who led the Saenuri Party from 2009-2010, stressed the need for the South to declare the end of an inter-Korean denuclearization deal and the withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). "(We) should consider and review 'all alternatives' before too late for our survival," he said on his blog. Chung, once a seven-term lawmaker, has long called for the South to go nuclear amid the North's continued development of its nuclear arsenal. The U.S. withdrew nuclear weapons from Korea in the early 1990s, when the two Koreas issued a joint declaration to keep the Korean Peninsula nuclear-free. Chung said the denuclearization deal has already become null and void as the North conducted four nuclear tests, most recently on Jan. 6. He stressed that peace can be maintained by countering nuclear threats with nuclear weapons. "It's a Cold War lesson," he said. "Talks to get rid of nukes are possible only when there is a strong means corresponding to nukes." Chung said sanctions and pressure on North Korea would have a limited effect and Pyongyang is expected to seek negotiations with Washington, bypassing Seoul, as a nuclear state. That's a reason why the South needs to withdraw from the NPT, he added, citing the Article X of the treaty. It says, "Each Party shall in exercising its national sovereignty have the right to withdraw from the Treaty if it decides that extraordinary events, related to the subject matter of this Treaty, have jeopardized the supreme interests of its country." In the wake of the North's latest provocation, calls have grown here for the South to have its own nuclear deterrence. Rep. Won Yoo-cheol, the floor leader of the Saenuri Party, openly said it's time for the South to have nuclear weapons for peace and self-defense. President Park Geun-hye said she understands such a sentiment but made clear that her administration will stick to the policy of denuclearizing the entire peninsula. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #9 Joe, it will be It'll be like the great South American Dreadnaught race of 1910-1913. A Gin Court, taken over from the Turkish Navy (ordered by Brazil, but sold due to the collapse of rubber prices) had a Ward Room that was 85 x 29 feet. No bulkheads. :) Comfort ship, 7 turrets 14 guns |
| Posted by: Shipman 2016-02-01 18:10 |
| #8 Obama will be lauded by the left for saving the country from the second great depression when they in fact they only lengthened and deepened the recession for the working man and enriched the rentier establishment. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2016-02-01 14:27 |
| #7 Tom Lehrer sang on this subject in 1967. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2016-02-01 11:21 |
| #6 We are going to be cleaning up Champ's mess for the next 40 years. Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2016-02-01 03:16 |
| #5 And of course Nicaragua and Venezuela and Columbia will need them in turn. |
| Posted by: gorb 2016-02-01 02:20 |
| #4 OOOPPPSSS, my bad, forgot to add SPUTNIK NEWS > LOOKING BEYOND SOUTH AMERICA: BRAZIL HOPES TO BECOME A TRUE GLOBAL POWER. "True Global Power" [OWG Co-Superpower?] strongly infers Brazil will want Nukes, which by extension Brazil rival ARGENTINA will want Nukes. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2016-02-01 02:13 |
| #3 Ditto as per Pert, Politico calls for TAIWAN to have Nukes. No surprise here as per SOKOR wanting Nukes iff NOKOR has Nukes. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2016-02-01 01:45 |
| #2 If we last that long. |
| Posted by: gorb 2016-02-01 00:48 |
| #1 We are going to be cleaning up Champ's mess for the next 40 years. |
| Posted by: Nguard 2016-02-01 00:41 |