A rather depressing report in the Washinton Post finds that in the wake of tfg’s failed, half-hearted attempts to get North Korea to denuclearize, support among the South Korean public to obtain their own nuclear weapons as a deterrent against North Korea and potentially China has soared to over 70%, and may be a factor in the upcoming presidential election on March 9.
Perhaps most surprising is the finding that support for their own nuclear deterrent remains strong, even if it would result in the withdrawal of US forces from the peninsula, and that this support can apparently be traced back to 1991 when Bush Sr initiated the withdrawal of all “tactical” US nukes deployed abroad — even though South Korea remains under the protection of our nuclear “umbrella” like Japan, NATO, etc.