Kim Moon-soo, the candidate from the People Power Party, and Lee Jae-myung, the candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea, engaged in a heated exchange regarding the North Korean nuclear issue during the presidential candidates' TV debate on the 27th.
On that day, during the third candidates' debate held at the MBC studio in Mapo, Seoul, Lee asked Kim, 'Do you believe we should arm ourselves with nuclear weapons?'
In response, Kim replied, 'We must achieve nuclear balance,' and Lee asked again, 'Doesn't that mean we need to arm ourselves with nuclear weapons? Are you suggesting that we should arm ourselves or not?'
Kim stated, 'The South Korea-U.S. alliance is the most important pillar,' adding, 'If we can arm ourselves with nuclear weapons within the scope of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, then we should do so.'
He continued, 'If arming ourselves with nuclear weapons breaks our alliance with the U.S., then that has no effect on nuclear arming.'
Lee also asked Kim, 'You promised to share nuclear weapons with the U.S. and redeploy tactical nuclear weapons; is that feasible?' To which Kim replied, 'That can be done through trust in the South Korea-U.S. summit.'
He added, 'There are various methods for nuclear sharing. We can negotiate with the U.S. as much as needed,' emphasizing that 'we plan to adequately promote and develop this through summits between South Korea and the U.S.'
Lee pointed out, 'If we redeploy tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula, we cannot demand denuclearization from North Korea,' stating, 'Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is a consensus policy of South Korea.' He concluded by saying, 'Let's pursue what is feasible and acceptable to the U.S.'