Yoon: "Changes by force, coercive diplomacy, and nuclear threats violate international law... Must respond firmly"

No Precedent Should Be Left for Changing Phenomena by Force
Support for Ukraine Benefits All Global Citizens

President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 17th, "The international community must unite to firmly respond to such attempts that clearly violate international law and norms, and jointly implement international law and norms."

At the opening ceremony of the '2023 Asian Leadership Conference' hosted by the Chosun Ilbo at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, President Yoon said, "there are regrettable forces that not only fail to work together to solve global crises and challenges but also engage in changing the status quo by force, coercive diplomacy, and threats using weapons of mass destruction (WMD) such as nuclear weapons," he added.

The event was attended by prominent international political figures including Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine; Yulia Svyrydenko, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine; former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson; former Australian Prime Minister John Howard; former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad; and Ryota Takeda, Secretary-General of the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon mentioned First Lady Zelenska and Deputy Prime Minister Svyrydenko of Ukraine, saying, "Yesterday, I met with them at the office and learned in detail about the suffering and human rights violations endured by the Ukrainian people due to illegal aggression," and added, "Countries that share universal values such as freedom, human rights, and the rule of law must send our collective support that no precedent of illegal aggression and attempts to change the status quo by force against Ukraine should ever succeed," receiving applause.

He continued, "The international community's support and assistance to Ukraine is not only for Ukraine and its people," emphasizing, "By strengthening the international cooperation system to respond to global crises and challenges, I am confident that the benefits and advantages will extend to all global citizens."

Regarding North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations, which have occurred over 100 times in the past year, he criticized them as violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions, stating, "In such circumstances, the dire human rights situation of the North Korean people is inevitable. While keeping the door open for dialogue toward North Korea's denuclearization, I have responded firmly to these illegal provocations."

President Yoon also explained that international cooperation between countries and companies is necessary to address supply chain disruptions, global economic uncertainties, security crises, and health and environmental crises, and that South Korea aims to pursue global pivotal diplomacy, global responsible diplomacy, and global contributory diplomacy. He remarked, "Security, supply chain disruptions, climate environment, and health crises rapidly spread globally even if they occur in one region of the Earth," adding, "World peace does not simply mean the absence of war. It has a greater meaning as a foundation for us to jointly respond and cooperate on global crises and challenges."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.