The US and Russia Should Focus on Denuclearization Efforts, Not on Nuclear Competition

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have both stated their intentions to strengthen nuclear power. Thae Yong-ho, the former North Korean deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom, stated that North Korea’s Foreign Ministry sent a letter to their embassy abroad announcing plans to conduct a new nuclear test next year. These actions are a cause for concern, with the potential to exacerbate the global nuclear issue.

Trump’s remarks go directly against President Barack Obama’s vision of a “world without nuclear weapons,” a policy he has been pursuing since 2009. This policy, often named as one of the greatest achievements of the Obama administration, led to a bilateral treaty in 2010 between the U.S. and Russia, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty II (START II), which promised to significantly reduce the number of deployed nuclear warheads. However, the implementation of the agreement was stalled when Russia opposed the U.S.’s plan to modernize its nuclear weapons and to strengthen its missile defense system. If the nuclear competition between the U.S. and Russia resumes, as it did during the Cold War, the whole world will become increasingly unstable and existing denuclearization efforts will be nulled.

We are concerned about the immediate impact this conflict will have on the North Korean nuclear issue. The strengthening of U.S.-Russian nuclear competition, coupled with the Trump administration’s pressure on China, is likely to further aggravate the North Korean nuclear issue. Furthermore, as the U.S. and Russia are both participants in the six-party talks, a nuclear competition between them will make the resumption of the six-party talks even more difficult. In this context, China’s attempt to place immediate restraints on the two countries seems to be related to such concerns about the North Korean nuclear issue. North Korea, as it is, is unyielding in its efforts to confirm its status as a nuclear power through additional nuclear tests.

The U.S. and Russia possess more than 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons. Naturally, they should also be responsible for global nuclear security and denuclearization efforts. The leaders of these countries were too hasty in mentioning their nuclear rivalry. The U.S., in particular, which is ahead of other countries in terms of military power and economic power, should act carefully to gain the trust of the global community. Trump’s “America first” policy should not lead to new conflicts or to the sacrifice of other nations on America’s behalf.

It is not easy for our country (South Korea) to become involved in the nuclear policy of the great powers. Even so, we must make every effort to prevent the U.S. and Russia from resuming nuclear competition. More important is the challenge of resolving the North Korean nuclear issue. If all the countries involved in the Korean peninsula could make successful negotiations on the North Korean nuclear issue, global nuclear conflicts could be mitigated.