Support for the U.S.-South Korea alliance has never seemed stronger in South Korea. The two countries appear to be in lock step when it comes to dealing with the North and their two presidents seem to genuinely like and respect one another, thus permitting an unprecedented level of trust and cooperation. That's the good news.
The bad news is that a growing number of South Koreans, including many prominent politicians, are calling for the reintroduction of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea, and an even larger number believe that the South should have its own independent nuclear weapons capability to match that of the North's.
During a recent five-city lecture tour, informal polls conducted among each of the Korean audiences (with one exception) produced the same results every time: Over half the respondents thought it was time to reintroduce U.S. nuclear weapons to the Peninsula, and an even greater majority believed that the South needed its own nuclear weapons.
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