South Korean leader says North Korea wants to attract US attention by showing off its nuclear power

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea's recent revelation of a nuclear facility was likely an attempt to attract U.S. attention ahead of next month's presidential election, and the North will likely hold major provocations such as a nuclear explosion and a long-range missile test. , said the South Korean president.

President Yoon Suk Yeol shared his government's assessment of North Korea's recent moves with The Associated Press before departing Sunday on a three-country trip that includes a stop in Laos for summits with leaders of Southeast Asia and other countries. At meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Yoon said he would emphasize that North Korea's nuclear disarmament is essential to regional peace.

At upcoming ASEAN-related summits, I will emphasize the importance of North Korea's denuclearization, which is a prerequisite for achieving a free, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, Yoon said in comments. written responses to AP questions.

This will serve to send a clear message that the international community will never tolerate North Korea's reckless actions, he said.

Concerns about North Korea have grown in recent weeks as the country has unveiled a secret uranium enrichment facility, promised to build more nuclear weapons and continued its provocative missile tests. Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened to destroy South Korea with his nuclear weapons if provoked.

Many foreign experts say North Korea hopes to eventually use an expanded nuclear arsenal as leverage to secure external concessions, such as sanctions relief, after the election of a new U.S. president. They say Kim likely thinks a victory for Republican candidate Donald Trump, with whom he engaged in high-stakes nuclear diplomacy in 2018-19, would increase his chances of getting what he wants over the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. During the campaign, Trump bragged about his personal ties to Kim, while Harris said she would not get close to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un who support Trump.

The September 13 disclosure of the nuclear site showed that Kim was defying U.S.-led efforts to eliminate his ongoing nuclear program. This is the first time North Korea has unveiled a facility intended to produce weapons-grade uranium since the country showed one at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex to visiting U.S. academics led by the nuclear physicist Siegfried Hecker in 2010. Hecker said the centrifuge room shown at the recent North Korean congress photos were not the same as those he saw in 2010.

North Korea appears to have recently disclosed its nuclear facilities in order to attract the attention of the United States and the international community in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election, and it is likely that North Korea will conduct further provocations such as nuclear tests. and ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) launches in the future, Yoon said.

Yoon did not say whether South Korea had detected suspicious activities in North Korea that indicate its preparations for nuclear and ICBM tests. He said South Korea was closely monitoring North Korea's movements through the combined intelligence and surveillance assets between South Korea and the United States.

North Korea has conducted six underground nuclear tests since 2006 and numerous ICBM test launches in recent years. Additional tests are likely intended to further refine its nuclear and ballistic capabilities. Many observers believe that North Korea does not yet have functional nuclear missiles capable of reaching the continental United States, although it likely has ones capable of striking all of South Korea and Japan.

Since his inauguration in 2022, Yoon, a conservative, has made a stronger military alliance with the United States the center of his foreign policy to address North Korea's evolving nuclear threats. It also took a major step to move beyond historic differences with Japan and strengthen a Seoul-Washington-Tokyo trilateral security partnership. Such measures angered North Korea, which called Yoon a traitor and ignored his calls for dialogue.

There are potential concerns about the South Korea-US alliance if Trump returns to the White House. He had previously asked South Korea to significantly increase its share of the cost of the American military deployment on its soil. Some experts say Trump's possible push for a new round of negotiations with Kim could complicate Yoon's approach to North Korea's nuclear program.

But Yoon expressed confidence that the ironclad alliance between South Korea and the United States will continue to make steady progress regardless of the outcome of the U.S. election.

There is strong bipartisan support for the ROK-U.S. alliance in the United States, Yoon said. Many prominent US Democrats and Republicans have publicly declared their strong support for the alliance and continually visit Korea for consultations aimed at strengthening bilateral relations.

ROK stands for Republic of Korea, the official name of South Korea.

Yoon also expressed confidence that South Korea and Japan will continue to develop bilateral relations under the leadership of Japan's new cabinet led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who took office last week. Yoon's office said the two countries were discussing arranging a meeting between Yoon and Ishiba on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit.

Yoon said he believed North Korea's nuclear threats against South Korea were aimed at fomenting internal divisions in South Korea and strengthening its domestic control with increased military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The North Korean regime's claims that its nuclear development was never intended to target the Republic of Korea, since we are one nation, have been debunked, Yoon said.

Asked about North Korea's repeated launches of waste-carrying balloons to South Korea, Yoon said North Korea would face consequences it would find hard to resist if the security of the South Korean people was compromised. threatened. He did not specify the specific measures envisaged by his government.

Before heading to Laos, Yoon is scheduled to visit the Philippines and Singapore.

At ASEAN-related summits, Yoon said a key issue South Korea plans to raise, besides North Korea's nuclear program, is the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between the Republic of Korea and ASEAN. He said South Korea will further expand cooperation with ASEAN in a range of areas such as politics, military exchanges, cybersecurity, environment and a safety net against financial crises.

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