The two Koreas are technically still at war since they did not sign a peace treaty after the Korean War. Reuniting with the South had always been a key, if increasingly unrealistic, part of the North’s ideology until Kim abandoned it in 2024.
Despite this, the threats against the South haven’t stopped. Days before the military exercise, North Korea launched ballistic missiles towards Japan and repeated a warning that it had the right to exercise its nuclear weapons should the country be threatened. More missiles were launched on Thursday.
A larger concern for South Korea this time is that the Trump administration no longer separates security and trade issues. Trump said he was unhappy with South Korea’s refusal to join him in his war in Iran but he also has been unhappy with it as a trading partner.
His administration has complained that the country’s $1bn (£734m) annual spending to host the US troops is not enough, that it is dragging its feet in investing the $350bn it has pledged, and that it is discriminating against US companies operating in the country.
Now that trade disputes are evolving into national security concerns, some have called for South Korea to reduce its reliance on the US.
Cheong Seong-chang, vice-president at the Sejong Institute think-tank and a proponent of South Korea developing its own nuclear weapons, says Seoul must maintain its alliance with the US but also “take steps to acquire its own nuclear deterrence”.
While the majority of its public supports a nuclear South Korea, the government has argued that acquiring the bomb is unnecessary and even harmful to the country’s network of alliances. Such thinking could shift if the US withdraws further from Asia.
