Seoul would notably provide food, energy and means of modernization to its neighbor in the North. But for specialists in the region, the chances of seeing Pyongyang accepting this offer are very lean.
Le Monde with AFP
South Korean President Yoon Seok-Youl announced on Monday August 15 that he would offer a large aid plan in Pyongyang in exchange for denuclearization, a type of offer long disdained by North Korea .
believing that denuclearization is “essential” for lasting peace in the peninsula, Mr. Yoon detailed his offer which would include food, energy, but also aid for the modernization of infrastructure such as ports , airports and hospitals.
This plan “will considerably improve the economy of North Korea in stages and the standard of living of its population, if the North ceases to develop its nuclear program and engages in an authentic and substantial process of denuclearization”, said Mr. Yoon during a speech marking the anniversary of the end of Japanese colonial domination in 1945.
Pyongyang is preparing for a new nuclear test, according to Washington and Seoul
Last week, Pyongyang threatened to “eradicate” South Korean officials, accusing Seoul of being behind the Cavid-19 epidemic in the country. In July, the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said he “ready to mobilize” his nuclear capacities in the event of war with the United States or South Korea.
For specialists in the region, the chances of seeing Pyongyang accept this offer, already mentioned during the inauguration speech of Mr. Yoon, are very lean, since the North, which invests a large part of its GDP in its Armament program, said for a long time that it would not conclude such an agreement.
North Korea has led a record series of armaments this year, with in particular the shooting of a full -range intercontinental ballistic missile, a first since 2017. Washington and Seoul have warned several times in recent months that the North was preparing to carry out a new nuclear test, which would be the seventh in its history.