S Korea's Yoon Unveils Vision For 'Freedom-based Unification', Proposes Dialogue With North Korea

SEOUL, Aug 15 (Bernama-Yonhap) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol unveiled a vision for unification with North Korea on Thursday, pledging to expand outside information in the reclusive nation and proposing an official dialogue channel that can "take up any issue."

Speaking on Liberation Day, which commemorates the 1945 end of Japan's colonial rule, Yoon said that "complete liberation remains an unfinished task" as the Korean Peninsula remains divided, Yonhap news agency reported.

"The freedom we enjoy must be extended to the North, where people are deprived of freedom and suffer from poverty and starvation. Only a unified, free and democratic nation across the entire Korean Peninsula will bring complete liberation,” Yoon said.

Yoon outlined three key tasks for unification; defending freedom in South Korea from fake news and destabilising elements, promoting human rights and outside information in North Korea, and strengthening international cooperation.

He proposed an official dialogue with Pyongyang through an "Inter-Korean Working Group" to address issues such as relieving tensions, economic cooperation, cultural exchanges and disaster responses.

Yoon urged North Korea to respond, emphasising that dialogue and cooperation can bring substantive progress in inter-Korean relations.

"We will begin political and economic cooperation the moment North Korea takes just one step toward denuclearisation," he said.

Yoon also plans to expand North Koreans' access to information, highlighting that testimonials from defectors show that South Korean broadcasts helped them see through North Korean propaganda.

"If more North Koreans recognise that unification through freedom is the only way to improve their lives, they will become strong allies for a freedom-based unification," he said.

South Korea will establish a North Korea Freedom and Human Rights Fund to support activities promoting freedom and human rights in the North, while continuing to offer humanitarian aid.

"We offered relief supplies for flood victims in North Korea, despite the regime's rejection. We will never stop offering humanitarian aid," Yoon added.

-- BERNAMA-YONHAP