South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok called on Monday to avoid any negative impact in science technology and energy cooperation with the United States, after the U.S. Department of Energy designated South Korea as a 'sensitive' country,

Instead of relying on declarations from Washington, the current allies of the USA may begin seeking security guarantees through their own nuclear weapons. On the shortlist of countries capable of pursuing such security measures,

The U.S. Department of Energy has designated ally South Korea a "sensitive" country, a spokesperson said on Friday, after the South Korean president briefly imposed martial law and amid talk of Seoul potentially developing nuclear weapons.