SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (pic) called again for unification of the Korean Peninsula to free it from nuclear threats in a renewed challenge to Pyongyang’s moves to rule out the possibility of rapprochement.
"A unified Korean Peninsula that is free and open will also create a strong impetus for economic development and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” Yoon said on Wednesday (Oct 9) in a speech in Singapore.
"Across the energy, logistics, transportation, infrastructure and tourism sectors, the demand for vigorous investment and cooperation will soar.”
His comments, made during a three-nation trip to South-East Asia, build on a goal he unveiled at home in August.
Yoon’s call for unification with the ideals of freedom and democracy at its core contrasts with Kim Jong-un’s order earlier this year to remove any references to unification from North Korea’s constitution. Kim’s rubber-stamp parliament made unspecified changes to its constitution this week, according to the nation’s state run media KCNA.
Pyongyang further underscored its intentions to characterize its neighbor as a hostile nation rather than a possible unification partner by ordering the cutting off of transportation links between the two countries earlier Wednesday.
The animosity between the two Koreas has heated up since Yoon took office and bolstered South Korea’s security ties with the US and Japan. Kim has deepened Pyongyang’s isolation after negotiations with the US failed to ease sanctions on his regime during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Kim has since beefed up efforts to advance his nuclear arsenal. In September, North Korea released its first photos of a facility to enrich uranium for atomic bombs, showing him touring a plant at the center of the program. A top South Korean official warned earlier that North Korea might conduct a nuclear test around the time of the US presidential election.
The North Korean leader has also strengthened ties with Russia. The US, South Korea and Japan have accused Pyongyang of supplying Moscow with munitions and ballistic missiles to aid its grinding war on Ukraine. Russia and North Korea have denied the arms transfers despite evidence showing them taking place.
South Korea’s defense minister said Pyongyang was likely to deploy troops in the battlefields in Ukraine, according to Yonhap News on Tuesday. The report didn’t provide specific information of the possible size or timing of any deployment.
Yoon said unification would "free 26 million North Korean people suffering from poverty and tyranny.” - Bloomberg
