South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol has proposed a new plan to unite Korea based on freedom and democracy.
Speaking on Liberation Day, which marks the end of Japanese rule over Korea in 1945, President Yoon called for opening official dialogue with North Korea.
“The freedom we enjoy should be extended to the North, where people are deprived of freedom and suffer from poverty and hunger,” Yoon said in his speech, as reported by Yonhap.
He stressed that true liberation would only be possible when the entire Korean Peninsula is united as a free and democratic nation.
As part of this plan, President Yoon suggested setting up an inter-Korean working group to discuss important issues between the two countries.
“This group could address any issue, from reducing tensions to economic cooperation, cultural exchanges, and responses to disasters and climate change,” he said, urging North Korea to join the discussion.
A key part of Yoon’s “unification based on freedom” plan is to help North Koreans gain more access to information about the outside world.
Yoon noted that many defectors from North Korea have said South Korean radio and TV broadcasts helped them realize that the North Korean government was spreading false information.
However, the chances of these talks happening are unclear.
North Korea has been calling South Korea its main enemy for nearly a year, and Kim Jong Un’s government in Pyongyang has cut off most communication with Seoul.
This proposal comes as the United States and South Korea are set to begin large military exercises on the Korean Peninsula. These exercises are designed to strengthen their forces against potential threats from North Korea.
