북한, 한국 핵잠 도입에 “아시아 태평양 핵 도미노 유발할 것”

North Korea has declared that the development of a Korean nuclear submarine, being pursued by the South Korean government in cooperation with the United States, poses a "necessary safety threat" and will likely trigger a domino effect of nuclear weapons in the Asia-Pacific region. Speaking on December 12, North Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister, Jeong Gyeon-chol, warned that such a development would necessitate "unbearable and irreversible retaliatory attacks" against other countries with military ambitions.

He added that possessing the most comprehensive and complex combat capabilities to defend national maritime sovereignty is a "necessary and inescapable first strategic endeavor" for North Korea, justifying their nuclear weapons program. Jeong also pointed to a January 2023 meeting of the First Future Defense Strategy Committee, which South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol used to justify the submarine development plan for the Korean Peninsula.

He claimed that the plan demonstrates South Korea's intent to use nuclear submarines to deal with their nuclear weapons concerns and regional threats, rather than as a "reactive measure" or "defensive posture." Jeong cited ongoing talks between North Korea and the United States on uranium enrichment and nuclear fuel reprocessing, stating that North Korea aims to secure the right to produce nuclear materials and eventually become a nuclear-armed state.

He further criticized Japan, saying that South Korea's pursuit of nuclear submarines would expose the "nuclear 3 principles" and prevent any option related to nuclear submarines from being excluded. North Korea has issued nearly a dozen statements criticizing Japan's military actions this year alone. Jeong maintained that South Korea's nuclear submarine possession is part of the US's global strategy, evolving the US-Japan-South Korea military alliance into an "AUKUS 2.0" and potentially leading to a global confrontation in the Asia-Pacific region, encompassing the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the South Korea-Japan maritime border.