Chatter about South Korea establishing its own nuclear weapons program is surging once again, and while many see this as a worst-case scenario for North Korea, there are reasons to believe that Kim Jong Un might even welcome it.

Seoul’s new Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said earlier this month that ROK nuclear armament is among “all possible options” for responding to North Korean nuclear threats, and several high-level ruling party politicians have also voiced support for South Korean nukes. Even President Yoon Suk-yeol stated that acquiring such weapons “wouldn’t take as long as some might