South Korea calls on North to respond to its aid offer

ANKARA (AA) – South Korea on Tuesday called on North Korea to respond to its latest economic aid offer for peace in the region, local media reported.

The country's Unification Ministry said it hoped Pyongyang will respond to President Yoon Suk-yeol's offer of economic incentives in return for denuclearization.

“The Unification Ministry urges and hopes for North Korea to respond to our government's sincere proposal for peace on the Korean Peninsula and the common prosperity of the South and the North,” Yonhap News Agency quoted an unnamed official as telling reporters.

The country's Foreign Ministry also said that it has communicated the aid plan to the US, China, and Japan, and Washington expressed support for the initiative.

Speaking at an event on the occasion of Liberation Day on Monday, President Yoon offered economic incentives to North Korea in return for denuclearization and said Pyongyang's denuclearization is "essential" for peace in the region.

“The audacious initiative that I envision will significantly improve North Korea's economy and its people's livelihoods in stages if the North ceases the development of its nuclear program and embarks on a genuine and substantive process for denuclearization," Yoon said.

"We will implement a large-scale food program; provide assistance for power generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure; and carry out projects to modernize ports and airports for international trade," he added.

Tension on the peninsula rose in 2020 when North Korea attacked and blew up the inter-Korean liaison office along the border. Seoul warned of a strong response if Pyongyang "further worsens the situation."

However, tensions soared further last year when both Seoul and Pyongyang ramped up drills to show off their military might.

The US and South Korea have extended several offers of dialogue to North Korea to ease current tensions on the peninsula, but North Korea has not responded.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid