Yoon: "North Korea May Conduct Nuclear Test and ICBM Provocation... Will Send Clear Message at ASEAN"

Yoon's Southeast Asia Tour to 3 Countries from 6th to 11th
"South Korea-US Thoroughly Monitoring North Korea's Moves"
"Strong South Korea-US Alliance Regardless of US Presidential Election"

President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee are seen greeting as they board Air Force One, their official aircraft, at V?clav Havel International Airport in Prague on the 21st of last month (local time).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol, ahead of his visits to the Philippines, Singapore, and Laos, emphasized in a written interview with the Associated Press that "North Korea may carry out additional provocations" and that he will send a clear message to North Korea at the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit.

In the interview titled "President Yoon: North Korea's disclosure of nuclear facilities is to attract U.S. attention" on the 6th, President Yoon explained, "North Korea is likely to carry out further provocations such as nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches to attract the attention of the United States and the international community."

President Yoon stated, "At this ASEAN Summit, the international community will send a clear message that it will not tolerate North Korea's reckless actions that violate Security Council resolutions and international norms, threatening peace on the Korean Peninsula, the Indo-Pacific region, and the world."

He added, "Denuclearization of North Korea is an indispensable prerequisite for creating a free, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region."

Regarding North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un's threat of nuclear attack by declaring "North Korea is a nuclear-armed state," President Yoon criticized, "The North Korean regime's past claims that its nuclear development was never aimed at its own people, the South Korean people, have been exposed as lies to the whole world."

On the possibility of further provocations by North Korea, President Yoon explained, "Our government is closely monitoring North Korea's related movements and is thoroughly tracking North Korea's activities through combined South Korea-U.S. surveillance and reconnaissance assets."

Regarding North Korea's recent continuous release of 'trash balloons' toward South Korea, he warned, "If there is any threat to the safety of our citizens, North Korea will face responses that it will find difficult to endure."

On the upcoming U.S. presidential election next month, President Yoon said, "There is solid bipartisan support for the South Korea-U.S. alliance within the United States," and emphasized, "Regardless of the outcome of the U.S. election, the alliance will continue to develop steadily and unwaveringly."

Regarding South Korea-Japan relations, he also stated, "I believe we can continue to develop South Korea-Japan relations with the newly elected Japanese prime minister and the new cabinet."