This week, South Korea and the United States announced that if North Korea uses its nuclear weapons against the US or South Korea, it would mean the end of Kim Jong Un’s regime. President Yoon Suk Yeol is currently on a six-day state visit to the US, where he and President Joe Biden discussed increasing the US security shield for South Korea due to North Korea’s increased missile tests.
The Washington Declaration boosts the US nuclear umbrella over South Korea, including the deployment of a US nuclear submarine to South Korea, which has not happened since the 1980s. However, analysts doubt the declaration’s practical value, as there are no plans to station US nuclear weapons in South Korea.
Although a majority of South Koreans now believe the country should develop its own nuclear weapons, experts say this won’t happen. The declaration will cause concern for North Korea, and there could be more missile launches to demonstrate this.
US political dysfunction is the major problem with the Washington Declaration, which means it could be worthless after the next presidential election there. The potential return to power of former US President Donald Trump is likely to trigger “very serious discussions” in Seoul.
