TRUMP-PROOFING GLOBAL SECURITYTrump's Possible Return Reignites South Korea Nuclear Debate

South Korean calls to acquire nuclear weapons, which were subdued for the past year following steps to strengthen the U.S.-South Korea alliance, are once again bubbling to the surface ahead of the possible return of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump, who appears locked in a tight race with President Joe Biden as November’s election approaches, sparked concern this week after making comments that many Korean media interpreted as a threat to pull U.S. troops from South Korea.

In an interview with Time magazine, Trump lamented that U.S. troops are “in a precarious position” — a reference to nuclear-armed North Korea — and said Seoul should pay much more for U.S. protection.

“Why would we defend somebody … and we’re talking about a very wealthy country,” asked Trump, who elsewhere in the interview said U.S. troops were “in a lot of places they shouldn’t be.”

Those kinds of statements are not new. Trump has long questioned the value and necessity of the U.S. military presence in South Korea.

Trump’s supporters say the comments are simply a negotiating tactic meant to persuade South Korea to pay more for the cost of hosting approximately 28,500 U.S. troops. Trump, they insist, does not intend to abandon Seoul.

South Koreans appear less certain about Trump, who once said he “could go either way” on the idea of U.S. troops staying in South Korea.

Many are also concerned Trump could pursue a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that would effectively recognize the North as a nuclear weapons state.

“We can’t allow this. We must have our own nuclear arsenal, in a limited sense,” Yoon Sang-hyun, a five-term conservative lawmaker, said in a Facebook post this week.

Conservative South Korean newspapers have also begun publishing articles reassessing the idea of nuclear arms — an idea once considered unthinkable.

“The level of concern is really high,” said a researcher at a government-linked think tank in Seoul, who supports South Korea considering nuclear weapons in certain Trump-related scenarios.

“Almost every research institution has a project on preparations for the Trump administration,” said the researcher, who noted growing support among colleagues for acquiring a nuclear deterrent.

Many, including the Seoul-based academic, are hesitant to publicly disclose their openness to attaining nuclear capabilities, seeing little incentive to make statements that would risk antagonizing the current or potential leaders of a country that South Korea has relied on for protection for over 70 years.