South Korea Weighs Going Nuclear Amid Rising Challenges From North, Doubts About American Resolve

After years of producing energy reactors, South Korea could match North Korea as a nuclear weapons power.

Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP
President Putin, right, drives a car with North Korea's Kim Jong-un at Pyongyang, June 19, 2024. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP

SEOUL — Pressure for South Korea to “go nuclear” — to develop its own warheads — is rising here in the face of shrill new challenges from North Korea and grave doubts about Washington’s commitment to defend the South under the next administration.

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