Pursuing nuclear weapons would lead to international sanctions on South Korea that effectively turn the country “into North Korea,” President Lee Jae-myung said on Tuesday, warning that hopes for nuclear armament are unrealistic.

“Our citizens also know that developing nuclear weapons would lead to sanctions,” he said at a Cabinet meeting. “Who doesn’t know that sanctions could turn us into North Korea? Still, they wish we could arm ourselves without sanctions while achieving economic development.”

Lee said South Koreans should realize that nuclear armament is not possible and emphasized that issues like nuclear fuel reprocessing and uranium enrichment are truly