Sneaky2021
Member
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol offered aid, dialogue and a path to unification to North Korea, making new approaches to the neighbor that has berated him with insults and threatened to annihilate his government in Seoul. In a speech Thursday to mark end of Japanese colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula in 1945, Yoon called unification an “unfinished task,” which he aims to pursue on a freedom-based path. “Only by firmly defending our freedom can we become the leading force driving free and democratic unification,” Yoon said. He also pledged to raise awareness about human rights abuses in North Korea, which has bristled for years at criticism of its rights record. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un started the year with a strident tone by eliminating the concept of peaceful unification from his state’s national policy and abolishing laws for economic cooperation with South Korea, driving a wedge deeper between the neighbors. This has led to some speculation that Kim has turned the corner on his bellicose outbursts and is readying for battle. But Yoon reiterated he could offer rewards for moves to roll back Kim’s atomic ambitions, saying “we will begin political and economic cooperation the moment North Korea takes just one step toward denuclearization.” He also proposed setting up a so-called Inter-Korean Working Group that could take up issues ranging from relieving tensions to economic cooperation. Kim this month ratcheted up friction by displaying hundreds of new mobile missile launchers to deploy at the border that can deliver conventional or nuclear strikes on South Korea and US bases in the country. North Korea has shown no signs of being ready to talk. Kim has strengthened his hand by providing munitions to Russia in exchange for aid propping up his economy, the US and South Korea have said. Kim’s regime this month turned down an offer for humanitarian assistance from Seoul after North Korea was hit by heavy floods from late July, saying enemies are enemies. “Even though the North Korean regime rejected our offer yet again, we will never stop making offers of humanitarian aid,” Yoon said.
His dedication to offering aid and opening dialogue, even in the face of rejection, is really admirable. Let’s hope his efforts pave the way for positive change and better relations down the line. 
I admire how President Yoon Suk Yeol never gave up on achieving peace and unification between the two countries. 
I hope he can succeed in doing so. 
