“We could acquire our own nuclear weapons.”

President Yoon Suk-yeol’s comments earlier this year marked his most explicit to date about the possibility of South Korea going nuclear. His remarks alarmed many experts, yet they reflect concerns of many in the South about the ever-growing threat from North Korea, and whether the U.S. will really come to its defense when push comes to shove.

Yoon has stopped short of endorsing a nuclear weapon program, and his unification minister has since walked back his remarks. 

But the debate over whether South Korea needs weapons of mass destruction on the peninsula to