Azernews.Az

By Ali Mustafayev

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon reacted negatively to calls for his country to develop its own nuclear weapons.

The calls are growing in South Korea for the nation to deploy nuclear weapons on the backdrop of soaring tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

The PM said that the move would undermine Seoul's calls for North Korea to denuclearize, trigger a nuclear arms race and put the country under international sanctions, Yonhap reported.

"If we are going to possess nuclear weapons, it will result in undermining the justification for (North Korea's) denuclearization and accelerate nuclear armament (in the region) and we also have to be prepared for international sanctions," Lee said in a TV interview.

"We shouldn't make a hasty decision on this," he said.

However, he added that the country should consider introducing nuclear-powered submarines to cope with growing threats from the North.

Pyongyang has stepped up its nuclear and missile programs, with two nuclear tests last year, as well as a series of missile launches, including those capable of reaching the continental U.S.

After North Korea's second test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) this July, South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered a speedy deployment of the U.S. THAAD anti-missile defense system.

Moon told U.S. President Donald Trump in a telephone conversation that South Korea also wants to build a nuclear-powered submarine, presidential officials said.

Later, the U.S. Defense Department said it was "actively" considering revising bilateral ballistic missile guidelines with South Korea to allow Seoul to build more powerful missiles -- at the South's request.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula soared higher after North Korea threatened last week to fire four ballistic missiles into waters just 30-40 kilometers off the U.S.-controlled Pacific island of Guam.

In response, U.S. President Donald Trump has openly talked about military options. The US president Donald Trump warned Pyongyang saying that “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,” or “they will be met with fire and the fury like the world has never seen.”

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