Lee backs nuclear-armed S Korea, but says without U.S. support, prospect off table

 The nuclear genie keeps trying to wriggle its way out of the bottle in South Korea, with President Lee Jae-myung addressing rumors about Seoul using the technology.

“It would be great to go nuclear. And hard. The problem is, is that realistically possible?” he asked his Cabinet on Tuesday in a televised meeting that was picked up by regional media.

Though President Trump has given a green light for the use of U.S.-developed nuclear reactors to power South Korea’s submarine fleet, Mr. Lee said that acquiring nuclear weapons — while desirable, given the threats the Asian democracy faces — was “impossible.”

His predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, had been the first president to publicly broach the matter in 2023, saying that if North Korea continued expanding its atomic arsenal, Seoul would consider the acquisition of nuclear arms.

Since then, the topic has been a frothy constant in subgovernmental discussions. Pundits, media and polling companies have all weighed in.

Mr. Lee, who took office in June and has since tried to strike a more diplomatic tone with South Korea’s adversaries like North Korea and China, put his foot down Tuesday.

“If we were to go nuclear, it would be impossible to gain the approval of the U.S. or the international community, and economic and international sanctions would immediately follow,” Mr. Lee said. “Would we be able to bear that?”

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/dec/2/lee-backs-nuclear-armed-south-korea-says-without-us-support-prospect/