The new South Korean president, conservative Yoon Suk-yeol, called on Tuesday for “complete denuclearizationNorth Korea and warns that the country’s weapons program is a threat to global security.

Although during his campaign he pledged a tougher stance on his northern neighbor, he avoided harsh rhetoric in his inaugural speech, amid growing concerns that Kim Jong-un’s country was preparing his first nuclear bomb test in nearly five years.

“Although North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs are a threat, not only to our security but to Northeast Asia, the door to dialogue remains open so that we can resolve this threat peacefully, ” he told a crowd gathered outside parliament in Seoul.

He then added: “If North Korea really started with a complete denuclearization processwe stand ready to work with the international community to come up with a bold plan that will significantly boost North Korea’s economy and improve the quality of life for its people. “

The advancement of North Korea’s nuclear program poses a difficult security challenge for Yoon, who won the May 9 election vowing to strengthen the alliance formed 70 years ago with the United States, as well as the commitment expand its own missile capability to neutralize North Korean threats.

greetings from japan

The Government of Japan congratulated Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday for his new position as president of South Korea and called for closer dialogue and relations between the two countries, to fix the currently difficult sides.

“We aim to work closely with the new South Korean government to restore bilateral relations,” Japanese government spokesman Hirozaku Matsuno said at a press conference about attending the investiture ceremony in Seoul.

For his part, the Japanese Foreign Minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, is the representative sent by Japan for the inauguration ceremony of the president and, in this way, his visit represents the first by a Japanese foreign minister to the neighboring country since 2018, after the deterioration of their relations as a result of still open wounds such as forced labor or sexual slavery during the previous Japanese colonial rule on the peninsula.

The Japanese Foreign Minister took advantage of the situation of his visit to meet the previous day with his South Korean counterpart, Park Jin, and both agreed on their relationships need to improve.

“The healthy relationship between Japan and South Korea is important to achieve an international order based on to the law and ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world, ”he stressed.