A few years ago, I had dinner with several former South Korean government officials, during which they urged me to encourage the United States government to actively support their country’s efforts to acquire a nuclear weapons capability and remain in the alliance after doing so. I demurred. Then and now, I believe that fewer nuclear weapons and fewer nuclear powers makes for a safer world.

Apparently, that logic, so obvious to me, is no longer universal. While the majority view remains that nuclear proliferation should be discouraged, in recent months, there are murmurings about the benefits of “friendly proliferation,” or the acquisition of nuclear weapons by countries that share interests, views and align with the U.S.

This new thinking is based on a reassessment of the costs and benefits of proliferation. The prospect of more nuclear weapons is usually considered a “bad thing” because of the prospect of nuclear use resulting from an accident, a miscalculation, theft or some other cascade of events.

© The Japan Times