South Korea and weapons of mass destruction
| Weapons of mass destruction |
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| By type |
| By country |
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| Non-state |
| Biological weapons by country |
| Chemical weapons by country |
| Nuclear weapons by country |
| Proliferation |
| Treaties |
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The United States stationed various nuclear weapons and their delivery systems in South Korea between 1958 and 1991. South Korea actively pursued a nuclear weapons program from 1970 to 1981, primarily under military dictator Park Chung Hee. South Korea signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1975, but conducted illegal nuclear weapons-related experiments until 2000. South Korea benefits from the United States' nuclear umbrella as part of the countries' close alliance. South Korea is a ratifier of the Biological Weapons Convention and Chemical Weapons Convention, disposing of its Cold War-era chemical weapons stockpile by 2008. South Korea's policy on weapons of mass destruction is heavily influenced by its perception of North Korea's nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.
South Korea has the resources, equipment, and technical ability to quickly develop a nuclear weapons capability, a status known as nuclear latency. This includes an advanced nuclear power industry, and the Hyunmoo series of ballistic and cruise missiles; South Korea is the only non-nuclear-armed country to possess submarine-launched ballistic missiles. North Korea has possessed nuclear weapons since its first nuclear test in 2006, and continues to test nuclear-capable missiles.
South Korean policy maintains non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the goal of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. However, as of 2023, a majority of South Koreans consistently favor nuclear weapons development, and politicians have expressed consideration for such a program.
In August 2004, South Korea revealed the extent of its highly secretive and sensitive nuclear research programs to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), including some experiments which were conducted without the obligatory reporting to the IAEA called for by South Korea's safeguards agreement. The IAEA Secretariat reported the failure to report to IAEA Board of Governors. However, the IAEA Board of Governors decided to not make a formal finding of noncompliance.