"This will be a truly dangerous moment": The warning of South Korea's president - and the dramatic shift in approach
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung is calling on the United States to ease sanctions on Pyongyang in exchange for freezing its nuclear program, warning that continued bomb production could lead to nuclear weapons exports. In an interview with the New York Times, the president broke with decades of policy, warning that the moment North Korea has enough nuclear weapons for its survival will be a "truly dangerous moment."
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung is calling on the United States to ease sanctions on Pyongyang in exchange for freezing its nuclear program, thereby breaking with decades of policy. In an interview with the New York Times, Lee argued that "there is significant value in a compromise between sanctions, which are not very effective anyway, and stopping the development of additional nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile technology." Lee clarified that despite the discomfort with such a deal, there is no realistic alternative. North Korea is no longer the isolated country Washington tried to tame. The wars in Ukraine and Iran have changed the geopolitical map, and Russia and China have re-embraced North Korea as a strategic partner, especially after Kim Jong-un sent troops and weapons to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, US strikes on Iran have only strengthened Pyongyang's determination to expand its nuclear deterrence. The South Korean president believes that US President Donald Trump is the only leader who can bring Kim back to the negotiating table. Officials in Seoul noted that Trump represents the best opportunity for the North Korean leader to sign a peace agreement and normalize relations. Stephen Biegun, who led US negotiations with the North in Trump's first term, said at a conference in Seoul that Washington could negotiate a "slowdown or freeze" of the nuclear arsenal. In contrast, Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute in Seoul, warned that Trump may be more interested in creating a diplomatic spectacle to divert attention from the prolonged war in Iran. Lee warns that the current stalemate is too dangerous. According to estimates he revealed, North Korea is currently capable of producing between 10 and 20 nuclear bombs per year. "Once it feels it has enough nuclear weapons to ensure its survival, it will be tempted to export them for money," Lee told the New York Times. "This will be a truly dangerous moment."