South Korea offers North economic benefits for denuclearization

SEOUL, Aug. 15 (BNA) – South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol has offered “bold” economic assistance to North Korea if it abandons its nuclear weapons program while avoiding harsh criticism of North Korea, days after it threatened “deadly” retaliation over the coronavirus. 19 outbreak he blames the south.

In a speech to celebrate the end of Japan’s colonization of the Korean Peninsula, Yoon also called for improved relations with Japan, called on the two partner countries to meet the challenges of freedom, and said their shared values ​​would help them overcome historical grievances associated with Japan’s brutal colonial rule. before the end of World War II.

Yun’s televised address on the Liberation holiday came days after North Korea declared a widely controversial victory over COVID-19, but it also blamed Seoul for the outbreak. North insists leaflets and other things activists sent across the border spread the virus, an unscientific claim that Seoul calls “ridiculous.”

North Korea has a history of increasing pressure on the South when it doesn’t get what it wants from the United States, and there are concerns that the North’s threat portends a provocation, which could be a nuclear test, a major missile or even a border skirmish. Some experts say North Korea may raise tensions over joint military exercises that the United States and South Korea begin next week.

Yoon, a governor who took office in May, said North Korea’s denuclearization would be the key to peace in the region and the world. Yoon said that if North Korea stops developing its nuclear weapons and sincerely adheres to the denuclearization process, South Korea will respond with huge economic rewards that will be offered in phases.

Yun’s proposal was not significantly different from previous South Korean offers that had already been rejected by North Korea, which has been accelerating its efforts to expand its nuclear and ballistic missiles, and sees the leader of Kim Jong Un’s program as the strongest guarantee of survival.

“We will implement a large-scale program to provide food, provide assistance in setting up infrastructure for the production, transmission and distribution of electric power, and implement projects to modernize ports and airports to facilitate trade,” Yoon said.

“We will also help improve North Korea’s agricultural production, provide assistance to modernize its hospitals and medical infrastructure, and implement initiatives to allow international investment and financial support,” he added, stressing that such programs would “dramatically” improve North Korea’s life. .

North Korea ramped up its test activity in 2022, launching more than 30 ballistic missiles so far, including its first ICBM demonstrations since 2017.

HF