John McMain: nuke redeployment to S. Korea must be seriously considered

John McMain: nuke redeployment to S. Korea must be seriously considered. September. 12, 2017 07:36. by Se-Hyung Lee turtle@donga.com. U.S. Sen. John McCain, the political bigwig and the chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, called on the Trump administration to give a serious consideration to redeploying nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula. Attention is being drawn to the potential repercussions that the remarks will have on redeployment as they come from Mr. McCain, who has a significant influence on Washington’s diplomatic and security policies.

"The Korean defense minister just a few days ago called for nuclear weapons to be redeployed," McCain said in an interview with CNN on Sunday (local time), adding he thought "it ought to be seriously considered." At the National Assembly briefing on Sept. 3, South Korea’s Defense Minister Song Young-moo said that redeployment of nuclear weapons must be considered as one of various options. McCain’s remarks come as South Korea is witnessing a heated debate over bringing back the nuclear weapons from the U.S.

“Washington needs to make sure that Kim Jong Un knows that if he acts in an aggressive fashion, the price will be extinction," the U.S. senator added.

"I also think that we've got to tell the Chinese, it will hurt the United States if we lose some trade with you, but I'm telling you now, something is going to have to change,” McCain said when asked of his opinion on the U.S. policy towards China.

He also stressed the importance of perceiving a crisis out of the North Korea issues and mentioned the need to increase defense budget, suggesting reinforcement of national defense and military assets.

Since Pyongyang conducted its sixth nuclear test, rumors continue to spread that the U.S. military is considering redeploying nuclear weapons in South Korea. However, redeployment could cause more trouble as it will signify abrogation of “nuclear disarmament of the Korean Peninsula” and provoke strong opposition from China and Russia.