Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, noted on the 9th that he would pursue the development of nuclear-powered submarines as a campaign promise. This is the first policy commitment he has made since becoming a presidential candidate after the party convention on the 3rd.
In the ongoing discussions of unification with independent presidential candidate Han Duck-soo, it appears that Kim is trying to rally support from traditional conservative voters through "security policy."
The candidate said at his election office in Yeouido, Seoul, in the morning, “We need more fundamental and serious countermeasures against North Korea's realistic nuclear and missile threats,” announcing his pledge to strengthen North Korean nuclear deterrence.
He specifically said, “Since North Korea is currently developing ballistic missile submarines, we will also pursue the development of nuclear-powered submarines to ensure we have the capability to respond.”
Previously, during the administrations of Kim Young-sam and Roh Moo-hyun, the country attempted to develop nuclear submarines by introducing Russian reactor technology and nuclear fuel, but these efforts were unsuccessful. However, as North Korea has recently pushed for the construction of nuclear submarines, calls within the conservative camp to possess nuclear-powered submarines have resurfaced.
The candidate also said, “We will strengthen extended deterrence capabilities based on the Korea-U.S. alliance,” adding that he would push for ▲permanent stationed U.S. strategic assets ▲substantive Korea-U.S. nuclear and conventional integrated (CNI) training ▲adding a ‘nuclear attack protection clause’ to the Korea-U.S. Defense Treaty.
He said, “We will further strengthen the current Korean-style three-pillar system to secure preemptive deterrence capabilities.” The Korean-style three-pillar system consists of a kill chain that detects North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and strikes before their launch, a missile defense system that intercepts incoming missiles early, and punishment and retaliation measures targeting core facilities if North Korea uses nuclear or weapons of mass destruction. He also stated that he plans to enhance cyber-electronic warfare technology, establish high-altitude defense networks, and secure retaliatory measures such as ballistic missiles.
Alongside this, he promised to strengthen nuclear potential by amending the Korea-U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement to obtain uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing technology equivalent to Japan's level.
The candidate said, “Through these measures, I will actively pursue a nuclear deterrence policy to fundamentally and effectively address the existing nuclear threat from North Korea,” and added, “Peace without strong deterrence against North Korean nuclear capabilities is 'fake peace.' Based on Korea-U.S. trust, I will protect 'real peace' through strength.”
Meanwhile, the candidate originally planned to visit Daegu and Busan on this day to hold party member meetings, but abruptly canceled last night. This seems to reflect a focus on observing the results of the preference survey for a unified candidate conducted by the party leadership with Han.