RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) — Brazil is considering developing nuclear capabilities for its defense “if the world continues as it is,” Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira revealed on Friday.

“We are experiencing very serious international upheavals, especially in recent times. Although this is controversial, a country that is giant by its very nature, which has 11 percent of the planet’s fresh water, a tropical climate, fertile soil, and so many mineral riches, must take the nuclear issue seriously, because in the future we will also need it for national defense,” the official said at an official event in Rio de Janeiro.

Silveira recalled that the Brazilian Constitution currently prohibits the use of nuclear technology for military purposes, allowing it only for power generation and medicine, but he said the issue should be discussed in the long term.

In a subsequent interview, the minister insisted that the debate on the use of nuclear energy for defense purposes, including warfare, is inevitable.

“It is a fact that the world is moving toward the sad necessity of developing defense instruments. I am absolutely convinced that the country’s public officials, especially the National Congress, will have to review the current position,” he said.

The minister also pointed out that Brazil is one of the few countries that has mastered the entire nuclear cycle and possesses one of the largest uranium reserves in the world.

“We have to rethink the use of this technology, including for defense purposes,” said the minister.

According to Silveira, Brazil’s current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has managed to maintain the country’s sovereignty, but the international situation requires strategic reflection on the role of nuclear energy in the future.

More than 300 South Koreans remain in U.S. custody over visa issues. On Wednesday, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the United States is obstructing the repatriation of more than 300 South Koreans detained at the Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution battery plant.

“Their departure has become difficult due to circumstances on the U.S. side,” the South Korean ministry said, without giving details on what is delaying a swift return.

“We are holding consultations with the U.S. side to ensure their departure as soon as possible. We will provide updates as new developments arise,” it added.

The announcement came just hours after Seoul chartered a Korean Air flight to repatriate the South Koreans, who were detained last week during a raid at the Hyundai-LG plant in Georgia.

U.S. authorities, who arrested another 175 people of various nationalities during the raid, accused the South Koreans of lacking proper work visas or using permits that did not allow them to work at the plant.

The charter flight was scheduled to depart Sept. 10 with the South Korean nationals on board. Seoul has been negotiating with Washington to ensure that the departure of its citizens is voluntary, hoping to avoid consequences that could complicate their ability to reenter the U.S. in the future.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun was scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the detainees and the issuance of visas for South Korean technicians in the country. The case has fueled public discontent in South Korea, sparking protests in Seoul.

Demonstrators clashed with police as anger mounts over budget cuts and President Macron’s policies. On Wednesday, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau informed that 473 people — 203 of them in the Paris region — were arrested during the first day of protests organized by the “Let’s Block Everything” movement.

Authorities acknowledged that about 175,000 people actively took part in nearly a thousand protest actions across the country, even though France was “shielded” with 80,000 police officers deployed in the streets.

While there were no stoppages in essential public service infrastructure, demonstrators staged targeted boycotts on some train lines, such as the route between Toulouse and Auch, and attempted to storm tracks at Paris’ Gare du Nord, the busiest railway station in Europe.

Activists also managed to temporarily block highways and ring roads in major cities including Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Rennes.

Paris was one of the epicenters of the protests. Parts of the city center were closed to traffic, and there were instances of looting in the Les Halles shopping district, where the facade of an Asian restaurant was set on fire.

In an attempt to downplay the unrest, Interior Minister Retailleau said the protests “have nothing to do with a citizen mobilization” because they are being “distorted” by “the far left.”

In the days leading up to the demonstrations, “Let’s Block Everything” activists used social media to call on citizens to oppose the 2026 budget cuts prepared by former Prime Minister François Bayrou and which President Emmanuel Macron appears determined to push through at all costs.

Public anger grew because those cuts are coupled with new public debt intended to meet budgetary commitments with the European Union. On Monday, the National Assembly voted no confidence in Bayrou, who was replaced by Sebastien Lecornu, a conservative politician and close ally of Macron.

One of the “Let’s Block Everything” movement’s driving themes — which shares similarities with the 2018 “Yellow Vests” for its nonpartisan nature and reliance on social media — is the fight against wealth inequality and resentment toward Macron.

From Paris’ Place de la Republique, cordoned off by police, thousands of people joined one of the day’s largest demonstrations. “The government doesn’t listen to us and acts as it pleases without taking us into account,” said an 18-year-old student holding a homemade sign linking today’s governance in France with the causes of the 1789 French Revolution.

A 56-year-old man named Rachid criticized wealth distribution since Macron came to power in 2017. “There’s money in this country, but it’s badly distributed. It’s always the same people who get richer and richer. The main fortunes have multiplied their wealth 14 or 15 times, while ordinary citizens can’t make it to the end of the month,” said the small construction entrepreneur, who had Lebanese, Palestinian and Algerian flags draped over his shoulders.

The Brazilian president denounces Washington’s deployment near Venezuela. On Monday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticized the U.S. military presence in the Caribbean during a virtual BRICS summit.

“The presence of armed forces from the world’s largest power in the Caribbean Sea is a factor of tension incompatible with the region’s vocation for peace,” Lula said in his address at the meeting, which was convened by Brazil.

Lula stressed that Latin America and the Caribbean have been a region of peace since the 1968 signing of the Treaty of Tlatelolco, which established a ban on the use of nuclear weapons in the region.

The Brazilian leader made these remarks in reference to the recent U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean, which includes eight warships armed with missiles and a nuclear-powered submarine in waters near Venezuela.

Tensions escalated last week after U.S. forces attacked a boat that allegedly departed from Venezuela with 11 people on board, who, according to Washington, were drug traffickers.

Lula also urged BRICS members to continue defending multilateralism “with one voice” in international forums, particularly at the United Nations. “Unilateralism will not lead us to achieve the goals of justice and prosperity,” he said.

The leftist politician called for BRICS support for Brazil’s efforts to push for the expansion of the UN Security Council, a long-standing aspiration of the South American country.

Lula also pressed for cooperation on energy transition and sustainable development policies, emphasizing that “developing countries are the most affected by climate change.” However, he defended the continued use of fossil fuels as a means to finance the energy transition.

Since the start of the trade war triggered by the United States through tariff increases, Lula has stepped up contacts with his BRICS partners, especially China, Russia and India.

U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed particularly heavy tariffs on Brazil and India, two traditional U.S. allies, in both cases citing political reasons.