SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will push for a stronger response to North Korea’s missile and nuclear programmes at summit talks this week, arguing that the weapons pose an existential risk to the area, he informed media.
Yoon will depart on Tuesday for an Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Indonesia and later within the week he’ll journey to India for a gathering of G20 leaders.
“The Republic of Korea and ASEAN should be part of forces to reply decisively and cooperate intently on North Korea’s denuclearisation,” Yoon informed Indonesia’s Kompas newspaper in an interview revealed on Tuesday.
“North Korea’s ever-increasing missile provocations and nuclear threats pose a direct and existential risk to ASEAN member states as effectively,” he stated.
Yoon stated South Korea and the 10-member ASEAN should improve their cooperation “so the rules-based worldwide order will be capable to take agency root within the Indo-Pacific area”.
ASEAN members might be joined at their summit this week by leaders and senior officers of different international locations together with america, Japan, South Korea, China and Russia.
Yoon can even meet Indonesian President Joko Widodo, an official in Yoon’s workplace stated.
Yoon informed Kompas it was time to place relations between South Korea, Japan and China “again on observe” however the official in his workplace stated it was unlikely there could be time in Jakarta for a three-way assembly between these leaders however talks had been anticipated later within the yr.
With ASEAN and India accounting for 21% of South Korea’s exports, Yoon would promote exports within the nuclear, defence and infrastructure sectors throughout his journeys to Indonesia and India, an official in Yoon’s workplace informed a briefing final week.
(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; modifying by Robert Birsel)