South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced today that Pyongyang will offer a comprehensive aid package to North Korea in exchange for denuclearization of the country, which it has previously denied.
The proposal comes after the North threatened to “eliminate” Seoul officials due to a recent Covid-19 outbreak on its territory. And less than a month after leader Kim Jong Un said his country was “ready to deploy” nuclear weapons in a war against the United States and South Korea.
Yoon said denuclearization was “necessary” to achieve lasting peace on the Korean peninsula. He detailed an aid plan that would include food and energy, as well as support to modernize ports, airports and hospitals.
“If North Korea stops developing its nuclear program and starts a real and tangible denuclearization process, the bold initiative I envision will greatly improve the North Korean economy and the lives of its people,” Yoon said in his speech that day. Anniversary of the end of the Japanese colonial era in 1945.
Analysts warn that the likelihood of Pyongyang accepting the offer is slim. The North, which invests a large part of its GDP in nuclear programs, has already said that it will not accept such a plan.
North Korea has conducted a record number of weapons tests this year, including the launch of a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile, which has not occurred since 2017.
The US and South Korean governments have warned that the North is preparing to conduct its seventh nuclear test.
source: Noticias
[author_name]
