South Korea ready to be firmer with its northern neighbor

South Koreans at Seoul Station on Saturday, May 7, 2022. News channels broadcast footage of North Korea's missile launch.

AP - Ahn Young-joon

Text by: Nicolas Rocca Follow

3 mins

The South Korean capital saw its North Korean neighbor carry out a new ballistic missile test on May 7.

This is the regime's 15th show of strength since the start of the year and the second in less than a week.

After the failure of negotiations between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in 2019, North Korea resumed its offensive rhetoric and the various provocations that accompany it.

These seem to be intensifying as the inauguration of the new South Korean president approaches on Tuesday, May 10.

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From our correspondent in Seoul

, 

Since the time, and at the rate at which North Korea is testing its ballistic missile arsenal, a certain weariness has set in among South Koreans with the images of missiles or Kim Jong-un that pass on television screens.

However, depending on the type of missile, the feeling is not the same.

Last March, when Pyongyang ended its self-imposed moratorium since 2017 on intercontinental ballistic missile testing, the impact was different.

Especially since the regime had claimed that it was the

, nicknamed the monster missile.

Washington and Seoul then denied the information.

The prospect of North Korea's nuclear testing resuming after a five-year hiatus could be a game-changer.

The tunnels at the Puggye-ri site where the last nuclear test took place are reportedly being reconstructed and the US State Department has claimed that what would be North Korea's seventh nuclear test could take place as early as May. , which is likely to pose a challenge to Yoon Seok-yeol, the new South Korean president.

Raise the tone

The new South Korean president wants to be more firm and oppose everything Moon Jae-in has done.

During his mandate, the democrat had taken some distance with Washington in particular not to upset Beijing too much, he refrained from condemning each declaration of Kim Jong-un or each test in order to keep a door open to negotiation.

Even before taking office, his conservative successor,

described North Korea as "the 

 ", and also mentioned the possibility of "

" in the event of an imminent threat.

An offensive rhetoric quite buoyant in public opinion.

While support for unification has been waning for two decades in South Korea, the hard line promoted by the conservative during the campaign contributed to his election.

Repeated attempts that harden positions

The recent offensive declarations of North Korea, the resumption of intercontinental tests coupled with the Ukrainian situation have contributed to relaunch the debate around a possible nuclear armament of South Korea.

Last February, a survey by the NGO

showed that 71% of South Koreans questioned supported the need for the country to possess nuclear weapons.

Since 1991, and the withdrawal of American tactical nuclear missiles from the peninsula, it is a sea serpent that often comes up in public debate, but it is hard to imagine the United States accepting that its ally develops nuclear missiles in breach of the treaty of non-proliferation.

On the other hand, Seoul continues to invest massively in conventional weapons, the defense budget of nearly 50 billion dollars weighs for 2.8% of GDP should rise further in 2022. An upward trend that Yoon should not stop. Seok-yeol who has promised to provide his country with a strong army to face the cumbersome North Korean neighbor.

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