Photo : YONHAP News
President Yoon Suk Yeol reportedly said that North Korea’s recent disclosure of a nuclear facility was likely an attempt to draw attention from the United States and the international community ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.
Yoon made the remarks on Sunday in a written interview with the Associated Press ahead of his trip to the Philippines, Singapore and Laos.
Yoon reportedly said that North Korea is likely to carry out additional provocations, such as nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile launches, going forward.
The president said that at the upcoming ASEAN-related summits, he will send a clear message that the international community will never condone North Korea’s reckless actions, which pose a threat to the peace of the Korean Peninsula, the Indo-Pacific region and the world.
Yoon added that denuclearization of North Korea is a prerequisite for realizing a free, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.
Asked about the North’s continued launches of trash-laden balloons toward South Korea, Yoon warned that North Korea “will face consequences that it will find difficult to withstand” if the safety of the South Korean people is jeopardized.