South Korea
Country Spotlight
Since the Korean War, South Korea has maintained a bilateral security alliance with the United States which includes extended nuclear deterrence and cooperation on missile defense. After abandoning its nuclear weapons development in the 1970s, South Korea has sought to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula diplomatically.
See South Korea's performance in
Region East Asia and the Pacific
30% Country’s electricity supplied by nuclear energy
~600 Metric tons of chemical warfare agents eliminated
3,000 km Range of Hyunmoo-V ballistic missile
Nuclear
- Abandoned nuclear weapons ambitions after U.S. pressure in the 1970s
- Signed Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in 1992
- Major supplier of civilian nuclear expertise and technology
- In October 2025, announced it would construct a nuclear-powered submarine, and sought U.S. permission to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel as part of this effort
Biological
- Committed to defensive research and development against biological weapons
- Rapid infrastructural response to public health emergencies
- Had a 5-year collaboration with the US to train for biological outbreaks
Missile
- Possesses ballistic and cruise missile development programs, including the Hyunmoo family of short and medium-range ballistic missiles
- U.S.-imposed ballistic missile range (800 km) restrictions lifted in 2021
- Only non-nuclear weapon state with submarine-launched ballistic missiles