US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced a key agreement, the 'Washington Declaration', that underlined US support for South Korea. This declaration boosts the US nuclear umbrella over South Korea, with regular deployment of a US nuclear submarine to the country. South Korea renewed its pledge that it will not develop nuclear weapons of its own, and there are no plans to station US tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea. The Washington Declaration paves the way to give South Korea greater insight and a voice in the United States' nuclear planning with respect to containing North Korean moves. The situation with North Korea is precarious, with the severely impoverished country having spent a major chunk of its finances on developing missiles and its nuclear weapons program. The public domain indicates that North Korea launched around 90 missiles in 2022 alone, a number that exceeded the previous peak in 2017.
Despite the Washington Declaration, the South Korean public is becoming increasingly vocal about the need for their country to develop its own nuclear weapons to reduce dependence on the US for its nuclear protection. The United States is opposed to South Korea developing its own nuclear weapons. South Koreans also worry about a regime change in the US that might result in defence assistance and cooperation from the US dwindling, as former President Trump had suggested South Korea should cough up billions of dollars for US forces involved in defending the country.
Former US President Barack Obama spent significant political capital to strike a nuclear deal with Iran, only for Trump to take the US out of the deal during his time in office. As North Korean missiles have grown in sophistication and range, South Koreans are wary of a softened US stance towards North Korea, with media reports indicating that South Koreans are concerned that this factor might deter the US from taking a hard stance while dealing with North Korea.
The US-South Korea nuclear weapons deal could silence wagging tongues, but experts have indicated that it might not be enough to appease a South Korean public that is increasingly demanding that Seoul develops nuclear weapons of its own. China, North Korea's biggest backer, has warned the US against "deliberately stirring up tensions, provoking confrontation and playing up threats". This agreement has had an impact on the equation in the Korean peninsula, but only time will tell how it will play out.
