South Korean President: 'The ball is in North Korea's court'

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. Photo: CNN

Two weeks after taking office, the South Korean president gave his first media interview, in which he said: “I think the ball is in Chairman Kim’s court – he has the choice to start a dialogue with us.”

In 2022, North Korea conducted 15 missile tests, more than in the previous two years combined, and last month leader Kim Jong-un pledged to “strengthen and develop” the country’s nuclear forces at the “fastest possible pace”.

From his new presidential office in the former Defense Ministry building in Seoul, Mr. Yoon said that South Korea and its allies are ready for any provocation from North Korea.

“Just aiming to temporarily escape North Korea’s provocations or conflict is not what we should do. This approach has been proven to be a failure over the past five years,” said new leader Yoon Suk-yeol, referring to the conciliatory strategy of South Korea’s previous liberal administration.

A former prosecutor new to politics, Yoon has consistently emphasized a tougher stance on North Korea and a desire to strengthen the South Korean military, in stark contrast to his predecessor, Moon Jae-in, who promoted dialogue and peaceful reconciliation.

“What is most desired is shared prosperity on the Korean Peninsula. I do not believe that the strengthening of North Korea’s nuclear capabilities is helpful and beneficial to maintaining international peace,” he added.

With North Korea recently stepping up missile tests and resuming activity at its underground nuclear test site, regional leaders were on edge over the weekend as Mr. Yoon met with US President Joe Biden in Seoul.

US officials have warned that North Korea could be preparing an underground nuclear test or an intercontinental ballistic missile launch during Mr. Biden’s first post-inaugural Asia trip, but so far those fears have not materialized.

After the meeting between the US and South Korean leaders, the two sides issued a joint statement saying that they would begin discussions on restarting and possibly expanding joint military exercises that had been suspended under Mr. Biden's predecessor. According to observers, this move could anger North Korea, but on May 23, Mr. Yoon spoke out saying that this was purely a defensive activity, regular military training was "the basic duty of every military in the world to maintain combat readiness."

In the event of an attack, the US would provide support including missile defense and a “nuclear umbrella” – the promise of protection from a nuclear-armed state to a non-nuclear ally – but the South Korean leader also ruled out the possibility of “re-deploying tactical nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula”.