ISTANBUL 

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has said that it was “unrealistic” for the country to acquire a nuclear arsenal.

“If we develop nukes, we will receive various economic sanctions like North Korea does and our economy will be dealt a serious blow, and therefore, that is unrealistic and we have to thoroughly abide by the NPT," Yoon said in an interview.

He was referring to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), Seoul-based Yonhap News reported on Thursday.

However, he added it “won't take that long” for South Korea to develop nuclear weapons, but adhering to the NPT was “more in line with the country's national interests.”

Yoon’s statement comes after South Korean ruling People Power Party Chief Han Dong-hoon made the same comments on Wednesday.

The potential losses “outweigh the benefits,” said Han of a nuclear arsenal.

"We are not at a stage where we can officially state that we should possess nukes," Han added.

Notably, a recent survey revealed that around 73% of South Koreans think their country should develop a nuclear arsenal.

According to the poll conducted by Gallup Korea and commissioned by the Seoul-based Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, 72.8% or around three-quarters of those surveyed said they support South Korea having nuclear weapons when asked about their opinions on the country's development of an atomic arsenal.

Meanwhile, around 400 soldiers from South Korea and the US have begun a three-week joint military exercise in the southeastern coastal city of Pohang.