Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon opened a North Korean human rights conference by calling for South Korea to acquire nuclear weapons on Thursday, risking overshadowing the discussion at hand in an apparent effort to boost his profile ahead of the next presidential election.

“Nuclear weapons can only be countered with nuclear weapons,” Mayor Oh said at the 2024 Seoul Forum on North Korean Human Rights on Thursday, stating that “relying solely on the ROK-U.S. cooperation under the U.S. nuclear umbrella … poses significant limitations for our security.”

He said ROK nuclear weapons would “not only deter North Korea’s nuclear program, but