Will South Korea or Japan develop a nuclear deterrent of their own?

Seven in 10 South Koreans tell pollsters they want the bomb. Japan’s PM refuses to rule it out. Is ‘friendly proliferation’ next?

The debate, long simmering, has come to a roiling boil.

Yet analysts who watch the region closely urge caution before declaring the non-proliferation order in East Asia on the verge of collapse. The obstacles to change – be they economic, diplomatic or structural – are still formidable, even if the psychological ones are eroding fast.

In an interview published on Monday, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi outlined his “worst fear”: a new global nuclear arms race.

Source: News - South China Morning Post