Niklas Swanström was interviewed in Dagens Nyheter about South Korea investing millions in defense
December 29, 2022: Niklas Swanström, ISDP’s Executive Director, was interviewed by Dagens Nyheter about South Korea investing millions in defense:
“South Korea needs to improve its capacity to act in order not to find itself in a vulnerable position. You can’t say ‘if South Korea hadn’t done this, it would have been fine’, but it’s in line with how they have to act,” says Niklas Swanström.
Niklas Swanström does not think it is likely that the tension between North and South Korea will ease in the next year. However, he sees a possibility that the country will open up more than before by the summer.
“It’s going to be difficult and it’s going to be tough, but I think we’re going to see some kind of attempt at an opening. North Korea needs economic activity, while they may want to reduce dependence on China,” he says, continuing:
“But it won’t be at the expense of North Korea’s own security, they won’t give that up. We will continue to see provocations.”