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Seoul Searches for Options as North Korean Missiles Fly

On October 10, as North Korea celebrates the creation of the ruling Worker's Party, the United States and regional allies will brace themselves for the possibility of yet another provocative missile test. With multiple missile launches this year, and even the test of a hydrogen nuclear bomb, Pyongyang is pushing the limits of its nuclear aggression, sparking heated rhetoric between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. However, despite assurances from the United States that its allies are protected under the U.S. nuclear umbrella, the impending possibility of a North Korean ICBM capable of carrying a nuclear weapon into the U.S. homeland has many in South Korea wondering whether Washington would really be willing to trade one of its own cities for its allies in the Asia Pacific, and whether this might be the time for South Korea to develop its own nuclear deterrent. As the North Korean crisis heats up, the Cipher Brief’s Fritz Lodge spoke with Admiral James ‘Sandy’ Winnefeld, former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Cipher Brief Network Expert, about whether South Korean hints at developing an independent nuclear deterrence might be designed to gain further reassurance from the U.S.

The Cipher Brief: What has kept South Korea from developing its own nuclear deterrent, particularly in light of the rising threat posed by North Korea? 

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