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
27% Country’s electricity supplied by nuclear energy
~3,000 Metric tons of chemical warfare agents eliminated
800 km Former ballistic missile range limit imposed by U.S.; now unlimited
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

Overview of The CNS Global Incidents and Trafficking Database
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

Tutorial on Biological Weapons Nonproliferation
South Korea Overview
Missile
- Possesses ballistic and cruise missile development programs
- U.S.-imposed ballistic missile range restrictions lifted in 2021
- Only non-nuclear weapon state with submarine-launched ballistic missiles
Overview of The CNS Missile and SLV Launch Databases

Tutorial on Missiles and Other WMD Delivery Systems
Chemical
- No public acknowledgement of Cold War-era chemical weapons program
- Member of the Australia Group (AG) for chemical and biological strategic trade
- Second Chemical Weapons Convention member to eliminate entire stockpile

Tutorial on Chemical Weapons Nonproliferation

NTI Tutorials
Treaties and Regimes Memberships
Analysis
South Korea

Eric Brewer on “South Korea’s Nuclear Flirtations”
Eric Brewer, deputy vice president for NTI’s Nuclear Materials Security Program, co-authored a piece for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace titled “South Korea’s Nuclear Flirtations Highlight the Growing Risks of Allied Proliferation.”

South Korea Submarine Capabilities
South Korea Overview

Education Center