South Korean Prime Minister Goh Kun said yesterday that South Korea will not develop nuclear weapons in response to North Korea’s nuclear weapons ambitions (see GSN, June 5).

“We stick to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty given that South Korea is under the protection of the U.S. nuclear umbrella,” Goh said (Joo Sang-min, Korea Herald, June 6).

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said, however, that Japan might develop nuclear weapons in response to North Korea, and that could spark a regional arms race.

“If Japan becomes determined in its bid to develop nuclear arms for certain reasons, there will be growing calls for a military buildup,” Roh said.  “Military buildup efforts will begin amid growing distrust and antagonism, and we should deeply consider what to do to cope with future developments,” he added (Korea Times, June 6).

U.S. Will Rotate Troops Near DMZ

Although the United States has announced it will withdraw its forces from South Korea’s demilitarized zone with North Korea, troops will rotate through training zones near the border, the New York Times reported today.

The bulk of U.S. forces will be stationed at bases 75 miles south of Seoul, but the training zones near the border will continue the forward U.S. presence, according to the Times (Howard French, New York Times, June 6).

Weldon Reports on Pyongyang Visit

U.S. Representative Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), fresh off a visit to North Korea, said Pyongyang claims to have nuclear weapons, according to a recent entry in the Congressional Record.

Weldon said, however, that he believes the nuclear confrontation can be resolved.

“We are in a tense situation right now, because North Korea has admitted publicly in our meetings that we held that they have nuclear weapons today.  They admitted that they are reprocessing the 8,000 nuclear rods from their nuclear power plants and they admitted that that reprocessed nuclear weapons-grade fuel will be used to build more nuclear weapons,” he said.  “I came away convinced that we, in fact, can find a way to get the North Koreans to give up their nuclear capability,” he added.

Weldon also said that using an economic embargo or military action to resolve the situation would be “unacceptable” (Curt Weldon, Nautilus Institute release, June 5).

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