South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol announced Monday that he would offer a major aid package to Pyongyang in exchange for its denuclearization, an offer North Korea has long rejected.
Seoul's proposal comes days after Pyongyang threatened to "eliminate" the South Korean authorities against the backdrop of the recent outbreak of the Corona virus in the North, and less than a month after leader Kim Jong Un announced that his country was "ready to mobilize" its nuclear capabilities in any war with the United States and the South. .
South Korean President Yun, who has previously described denuclearization as "essential" to achieving lasting peace on the peninsula, on Monday detailed a large-scale aid plan that would include food and energy as well as help modernize infrastructure such as ports, airports and hospitals.
"The bold initiative I envision will greatly improve North Korea's economy and people's livelihood in stages if the North stops developing its nuclear program and embarks on a sincere and steady process of denuclearization," Yun said in a speech marking the anniversary of liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945. .
Analysts in the region say the chances of Pyongyang accepting a similar offer - which was first floated during Yun's inauguration speech - are very slim, as North Korea, which invests a large part of its GDP in its weapons program, has long made it clear that it will not enter into a deal like this.
Washington and Seoul have repeatedly warned in recent months that North Korea is preparing for another nuclear test, which will be its seventh.
North Korea has conducted a record number of weapons tests this year, including an ICBM, for the first time since 2017.