Status: 08/19/2022 08:41 a.m
North Korea has harshly rejected South Korea’s offer of aid in exchange for nuclear disarmament. The sister of ruler Kim described the proposal from Seoul as a “summit of absurdity”.
North Korea has rejected a South Korean offer of extensive economic aid in return for nuclear disarmament. The sister of ruler Kim Jong Un, Kim Yo Jong, described the proposal as “the height of absurdity”, according to the state news agency KCNA.
“Simply knitted and childish”
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s belief that North Korea will trade its “honor” and “nuclear weapons” for economic cooperation shows that the South Korean president is “really simple-minded and childish,” Kim Yo Jong said. “No one trades their destiny for a corncake.” She also accused South Korea of re-launching earlier proposals.
Yoon regrets statements
The South Korean Presidency regretted Kim Yo Jong’s “rude” remarks but stressed the offer is still on the table. “North Korea’s stance is in no way conducive to peace and prosperity on the Korean peninsula and its (North Korea’s) own future, and only increases isolation from the international community.”
South Korea’s head of state promised North Korea on Monday, among other things, help with food and electricity supplies, building infrastructure and modernizing trade facilities if the country agreed to a disarmament process. South Korea would also participate in strengthening North Korean agriculture. As a result, the living conditions there would improve considerably, Yoon promised.
In his inaugural speech in May, Yoon promised the North extensive economic aid in return for nuclear disarmament. According to experts, however, the probability that Pyongyang will accept such an offer is negligible. North Korea invests a large part of its economic output in its armaments program every year and has made it clear on several occasions that it has no intention of accepting offers of denuclearization.