Ahn Ho-young

It’s a new year. We come across a lot of geopolitical and economic forecasts for the new year: tensions in U.S.-China relations; wars continuing to rage in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip; major elections in more than 40 countries, including Korea and the United States; and how all of these developments will impact Korea’s security and economic landscape.

Amid all these forecasts and concerns, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un raised the level of threat against South Korea through his statement at the Central Committee Plenary Meeting held in Pyongyang at the end of December. He redefined relations between the two Koreas as hostile and belligerent, and vowed that North Korea would make every possible effort to overpower the whole of South Korea's territory, employing all the available capabilities and resources, including nuclear weapons.

This heightened threat from Kim himself will lead to increasing calls in South Korea for the re-deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, or even South Korea’s own nuclear weapons development program. However, for the time being, the most realistic measure we can take is to fully implement and utilize the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), which was launched in July last........

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