Yoon: "International Cooperation for North Korea Denuclearization... Actively Blocking Funding Sources Such as Virtual Asset Theft" (Update)

President Yoon Suk-yeol Conducts Written Interview with AP Before Departure to ASEAN
Yoon: "China Has Significant Influence on North Korea... Must Make Constructive Efforts for Denuclearization"

President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 4th, "The international community must respond firmly to North Korea's increasingly escalating missile provocations and nuclear threats, and closely cooperate for the denuclearization of North Korea." He mentioned cooperation to establish a North Korean nuclear deterrence system and specifically urged monitoring of illegal activities aimed at cutting off North Korea's funding sources, such as virtual asset theft and dispatching workers overseas.

On the day before his departure for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit, President Yoon said in a written interview with the Associated Press, "North Korea's nuclear and missile development is a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and an act that directly challenges peace on the Korean Peninsula as well as world peace." He added, "The international community must clearly demonstrate that its resolve to prevent North Korea's nuclear development is much stronger than North Korea's will to develop nuclear weapons." President Yoon will visit Indonesia and India consecutively from the 5th for a 5-night, 7-day trip.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, President Yoon called for specific sanctions against North Korea from the international community. He explained, "If the currently functioning UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea are faithfully implemented, it can significantly cut off North Korea's funding sources for weapons of mass destruction (WMD)." He further stated, "At the G20 meeting, we plan to emphasize the need to actively block North Korea's illegal activities such as virtual asset theft, dispatching overseas workers, and maritime transshipment, which are major funding sources for nuclear and missile development, and also to pay attention to the horrific human rights conditions of North Korean residents, which are being mobilized as a means for the North Korean regime to maintain power."

He also requested China’s role in the denuclearization of North Korea. President Yoon mentioned North Korea’s economic dependence on China (as of 2022, trade with China accounts for 96.7% of North Korea’s total trade) and emphasized, "China holds considerable influence over North Korea. As a permanent member of the Security Council responsible for maintaining international peace and stability, China should make constructive efforts toward North Korea’s denuclearization." He added, "It should also be considered that North Korea’s nuclear development is causing undesirable outcomes from the perspective of China’s national interests, such as increasing instability in the regional order."

Through this trip, President Yoon plans to call for strong cooperation and solidarity among G20 member countries, which account for about 86% of the world’s GDP. He said, "To strengthen the resilience of supply chains, diversifying exports and imports of key items that affect the national economy and establishing stable supply chains are of utmost importance."

The Presidential Office also plans to actively promote South Korea’s export industries such as nuclear power, defense, and infrastructure during the ASEAN and G20 summits, and to strengthen cooperation in advanced industrial supply chains with countries like Indonesia and the Philippines, where electric vehicle and battery supply chains are closely linked. Since ASEAN and India account for about 21% of South Korea’s exports and are major export regions, the plan is to enhance cooperation with them and engage in attraction activities for promising export sectors. Additionally, there will be sessions to review the status of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations and implementations by country. Time is also expected to be allocated to focus on raising difficulties faced by South Korean companies in entering these markets.

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