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The US Department of Energy has officially designated South Korea as a “sensitive” country as South Korean officials continue to advocate for acquiring nuclear weapons amid growing security concerns over North Korea.
Some shit you should know before you read: If you’re unaware, South Korea falls under the United States’ nuclear umbrella, meaning the US has provided extended deterrence to protect South Korea from external threats, particularly from North Korea. Since the Korean War, the US has stationed troops in South Korea and pledged to respond with overwhelming force, including nuclear retaliation if necessary, in the event of an attack. However, over the last two years, South Korean officials have increasingly called for developing their own nuclear deterrent, citing doubts over US commitments and North Korea’s rapidly advancing arsenal. Intelligence estimates suggest North Korea possesses between 40 and 80 nuclear warheads, along with long-range missiles capable of reaching the US mainland. Pyongyang frequently issues threats to annihilate Seoul, conducts provocative missile tests, and recently declared that it will never abandon its nuclear weapons under any circumstances, fueling South Korean fears that Washington’s protection may not be enough to ensure their survival.
What’s going on now: First reported by Reuters and picked up by a few South Korean news outlets, the Department of Energy (DOE) designated South Korea as a “sensitive” country during Biden’s term, placing it on the lowest tier of its Sensitive and Other Designated Countries List. This list, which includes nations such as China, Russia, Israel, Taiwan, Iran, and North Korea, is primarily used for monitoring nuclear proliferation risks, national security concerns, and potential links to terrorism.
While inclusion on the list does not necessarily indicate an adversarial relationship with the US, it does mean that scientific and technological collaborations, particularly in the nuclear sector, will now be subject to additional reviews and scrutiny. Countries on the list often face stricter controls on access to certain US technologies, though the DOE has emphasized that South Korea currently faces no new restrictions on bilateral cooperation in energy, science, and technology.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it was taking the designation seriously and was in close communication with the United States to assess its implications. Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul expressed concerns that South Korea had received no formal notification from the Biden & Trump administration about the move and instead learned of it through an informal tip-off.
