SEOUL, South Korea — Denuclearization of North Korea is a prerequisite for global stability, South Korea said Tuesday after President Donald Trump described the reclusive regime as a “nuclear power,” raising concerns that the U.S. could be moving away move towards the recognition of the North as a nuclear power. -armed state.
Since Trump was last in power, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to “exponentially” increase his nuclear arsenal and increase weapons tests, including missiles that could potentially hit the continental United States and U.S. treaty ally South Korea.
The newly inaugurated Trump, who met Kim three times during his first term to discuss North Korea’s U.N.-approved weapons programs, spoke glowingly on Monday about his past relationship with Kim and said they liked each other.
“Now he’s a nuclear power,” Trump said as he signed a series of executive orders in the Oval Office. “I think he’ll be happy to see me come back.”
Trump’s defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth also called North Korea a “nuclear power” during his Senate confirmation hearing last week.
While it is unclear what Trump and Hegseth meant by “nuclear energy,” U.S. officials have long refrained from using the phrase because it could indicate recognition of North Korea as a nuclear-armed state.
The Trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
While there is increasing debate over whether the international community should accept North Korea’s nuclear status, experts say it would significantly upset the geopolitical balance in the region and potentially trigger an arms race, including the possible development of nuclear weapons by South Korea and the US. Japan.
South Korea said Tuesday that North Korea “can never be recognized as a nuclear weapons state.”
“North Korea’s denuclearization remains a consistent principle upheld by the international community, including South Korea and the US,” a South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for South Korea’s Defense Ministry said North Korea’s denuclearization “is an essential condition for lasting peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but also worldwide and should be pursued.”
Although denuclearization has long been the goal, talks with North Korea have been at a standstill since Trump and Kim’s 2019 summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. There is speculation that Trump could seek another face-to-face meeting with the North Korean leader.
On Monday, Trump asked about Kim while speaking to U.S. service members stationed in South Korea, where nearly 30,000 U.S. troops are based.
“How is Kim Jong Un?” he said during a video call from the podium at the Commander in Chief Ball.
Trump is “not a leader for legal nuances or diplomatic sensitivities,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
“For Trump, it is a simple fact that North Korea has nuclear weapons, and it is clear that states with nuclear weapons must get along to avoid war,” he said in an email.
The danger for Seoul, Easley said, is that U.S. and South Korean efforts to deter North Korea from advancing its weapons programs, which were strengthened during the Biden administration, could take a back seat to the Trump’s ‘personalist diplomacy’.
“Any uncoordinated policy change regarding North Korea’s denuclearization could leave Seoul vulnerable to Pyongyang’s coercion,” he said.
Stella Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea, and Mithil Aggarwal from Hong Kong.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com