SEOUL, South Korea (Dispatches) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol offered “audacious” economic assistance to North Korea on Monday if it abandons its nuclear weapons program, while avoiding harsh criticism of the North days after it threatened “deadly” retaliation over a COVID-19 outbreak it blames on the South.
In a speech celebrating the end of Japan’s colonization of the Korean Peninsula, Yoon also called for better ties with Japan, saying their shared values will help them overcome historical grievances linked to Japan’s brutal colonial rule before the end of World War II.
Yoon’s televised speech on the liberation holiday came days after North Korea claimed victory over COVID-19 but also blamed South Korea for the outbreak. North Korea insists leaflets and other objects flown across the border by activists spread the virus.
Yoon, a conservative who took office in May, said North Korea’s denuclearization is key for peace in the region and the world. If North Korea halts its nuclear weapons development and genuinely commits to a process of denuclearization, South Korea will respond with huge economic rewards that would be provided in phases, Yoon said.
Yoon’s proposal isn’t meaningfully different from previous South Korean offers that have already been rejected by North Korea, which has been accelerating its efforts to expand its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles programs.
Inter-Korean ties have deteriorated amid a stalemate in larger nuclear negotiations between North Korea and the U.S. which derailed in early 2019 because of disagreements over a relaxation of crippling U.S.-led sanctions on the North in exchange for disarmament steps.
North Korea has ramped up its missile testing activity in 2022, launching more than 30 ballistic missiles so far, including its first intercontinental ballistic missiles since 2017.
The U.S. and South Korean governments have said North Korea is gearing up to conduct its first nuclear test since September 2017, when it claimed to have detonated a nuclear warhead designed for its ICBMs.
While Washington has said it will push for additional sanctions if North Korea conducts another nuclear test, the prospects for meaningful punitive measures are unclear. China and Russia recently vetoed U.S.-sponsored resolutions in the UN Security Council that would have increased sanctions on the North over its ballistic missile testing this year.
North Korea’s state media said Monday that Kim exchanged messages with Russian President Vladimir Putin and celebrated their strengthening ties.