South Korea: Lee says Iran war makes North Korea less likely to give up nukes

Seoul: The US-Iran war has made North Korea even less likely to give up its nuclear weapons program, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said in an interview published on Wednesday.

Lee made the remark in a recent interview with The Economist on the occasion of the first anniversary of his inauguration, adding the “unique personality” of US President Trump can be “very helpful” in bringing the North back to dialogue.

Lee also reaffirmed South Korea’s own commitment to nonproliferation, telling the British journal it is “not desirable nor realistic” for the country to have nuclear weapons.

On defense matters in general, he said, “When it comes to the defense of our nation, we must take matters into our own hands,” according to the journal.

Addressing the political situation following the turmoil of former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration in 2024, Lee said the country can “move beyond this normalisation of the abnormal” and even “develop into a nation that leads the world.”

He suggested a basic income grant as a way to “distribute some of the excess profits to the general public,” referring to the recent debate about how to share the windfall gains of chip giants such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix amid an artificial intelligence-related boom.

He also admitted that the possibility of him being impeached or jailed after leaving office is “pretty high,” depending on how his various trials linked to his previous terms as mayor and governor unfold, Yonhap news agency reported.

The trials are suspended while he is in office.

Meanwhile, the US military has launched strikes against Iran in response to the Iranian forces downing a US Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, risking military escalation with Tehran, even as American President Donald Trump is seeking a deal to end the war.

IANS