People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo said Tuesday that South Korea must instill in Kim Jong-un's mind the fear that any North Korean nuclear strike would be met with a nuclear counterattack.

Writing on his Facebook page Tuesday, Ahn said that fear of nuclear retaliation is a prerequisite for dialogue. "Only then will the dialogue the current government advocates become possible," he said. "Now is exactly the right time to discuss tactical nuclear weapons."

Ahn said shifting international dynamics mean it is time to break what has long been a taboo. "The security environment surrounding the Korean Peninsula is fundamentally changing," he said. "The threat from North Korea is on a different level from the past."

He also said North Korea had gained real combat experience in modern warfare — including drone operations — through its troop deployment to Russia, and that Pyongyang was believed to be receiving advanced Russian military technology in return, along with economic support.

On the United States, Ahn said Washington had depleted key interceptor assets such as Patriot and THAAD batteries in Middle East conflicts, with discussions even emerging about relocating Patriot systems stationed on the Korean Peninsula to the region. He added that the deployment of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit from Okinawa to the Middle East was deepening concerns about gaps in USFK's capabilities.

He then said that even Japan — the only country to have suffered atomic bombings — was reviewing its non-nuclear principle banning the introduction of nuclear weapons onto its territory, adding that the nuclear order in Northeast Asia was entering a new phase.

Ahn said North Korea's denuclearization had become a distant prospect, and said US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby had raised the need for limited nuclear use and "rational nuclear options."

Ahn acknowledged that he had previously opposed South Korea acquiring tactical nuclear weapons, but said his position had changed. "The current government's operational plan for responding to the North Korean nuclear threat is weak, inadequate and past its expiration date," he said. "Confronting nuclear weapons without nuclear weapons of your own is an illusion."


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