South Korean lawmakers sparred on Monday over whether conservatives’ open consideration of nuclear armament to deter North Korea led the U.S. to designate the ROK as a “sensitive country.”

The designation has been at the center of public attention since last week, when Seoul confirmed that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) made the change in January under the Biden administration.

There has since been widespread speculation and debate about what led the U.S. to apply the designation that introduces controls on bilateral energy cooperation, with many progressives pointing the finger at open discussion of a South Korean nuclear program