South Korea's new president promises economic boost to North for denuclearization

South Korea’s new conservative president promised a tough stance on its northern compatriot, but appeared to extend an olive branch during his inauguration speech Tuesday.

“While North Korea’s nuclear weapon programmes are a threat not only to our security and that of northeast Asia, the door to dialogue will remain open so that we can peacefully resolve this threat,” said president Yoon Suk-yeol, according to a translation by The Times of London.

“If North Korea genuinely embarks on a process to complete denuclearisation, we are prepared to work with the international community to present an audacious plan that will vastly strengthen North Korea’s economy and improve the quality of life for its people.”

Pyongyang has rejected past offers of economic aid in exchange for curbing its weapons programs. Economic and military self-reliance are core tenets of Juche, North Korea’s nationalistic communist ideology, reports The Times. 

Yoon, a former prosecutor and newcomer to politics, is taking office amidst rising tensions on the peninsula over renewed weapons testing by the North. He will begin his five-year term by hosting a visit by President Joe Biden later this month. North Korea will be at the “front and center” of discussions, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

The South Korean president will have to convince Biden to prioritize North Korean nuclearization among Washington’s other foreign policy concerns, such as the war in Ukraine and confronting a rising China, said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

“North Korea will continue its missile provocations and Yoon will have to convince Washington to prioritize dealing with the threat,” Park told The Wall Street Journal.

Yoon has pledged to strengthen ties with the U.S. and repair relations with Japan, which hit a low under his predecessor Moon Jae-in. Japan also seems eager to work with the new South Korean head, sending Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to the inauguration – the first visit by Japan’s top diplomat in four years.

These actions are likely to worsen South Korea’s relations with China, who is allied with Russia and North Korea.

The conservative Yoon also has economic issues at home to tackle, like the growing wealth gap and rising unemployment and inflation, which hit a 13-month high in April. He will have to work with the left-leaning Democratic Party that controls parliament to enact his domestic agenda.