What if South Korea got a nuclear bomb?

The scenario is closer to a reality show than the science fiction it may once have seemed. South Korea has toyed with going nuclear in the past. The idea has gone from fringe to mainstream in recent years. Even the country’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, mused openly about South Korea building its own nukes in early 2023. Public support is high, fuelled in part by North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal: polls now show that some 70% of South Koreans think their country should have nuclear weapons (see chart). “Without them, South Korea won’t have a chance to fight off the North,” says Kim Young-sik, a former district head on Yeonpyeong Island, a flashpoint near the maritime border.