At an AP press conference, President Yoon Seok-yeol revealed the “exclusion of direct negotiations between the two Koreas” and “close security cooperation with the US and Japan,” and “expansion of arms trade” and the Itaewon disaster, saying, “I realized the scale of the disaster only later.”
In an exclusive interview with the Associated Press on the 10th, "the conservative leader has repeatedly called for closer security cooperation with the United States and Japan to respond to the 'dangerous situation' North Korea is creating, while lowering the prospect of direct negotiations like those pursued by his liberal predecessors." Reported.
“North Korea’s surge in missile tests, growing nuclear ambitions, and other provocations pose a ‘serious threat’ that could lead to dangerous miscalculations and spark wider conflict,” reported the President’s interview article.
In an hour-long interview with the Associated Press at the Yongsan office, President Yoon said, "We have seen miscalculations leading to serious wars many times throughout history. is happening," he told the AP.
The Associated Press called President Yoon a “conservative leader” in the article, and marked former President Moon Jae-in as a “liberal predecessor.”
President Yoon said, "North Korea may have internal reasons, but there is no way to know exactly why our country or other countries are making such provocations." It will only result in further strengthening security cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan," he told the Associated Press.
The Associated Press said, “President Yoon, a former prosecutor, took office in May with a promise to take a tougher stance against North Korea. During his presidential campaign, he accused his progressive predecessor, Moon Jae-in, of ‘obeying’ North Korea,” the article said.
The Associated Press continued, "Despite heightened animosity, President Yoon insisted that he would not seek dialogue for the sake of dialogue with North Korea, saying that past inter-Korean discussions were often exploited politically by leaders of both countries and failed to eliminate North Korea's nuclear program." said.
“President Yoon also accused North Korea of cutting off all communication channels with South Korea,” the article said. Pointing to the white phone on the desk, which he said was for a direct hotline communication channel with the North Korean leader, President Yun reportedly said, "North Korea is interfering with this line and is not coming to the dialogue."
President Yoon's article continued, "expressing support for Ukraine in its fight to repel the Russian invasion, which it called 'illegal and illegal'". “It is difficult to arm Ukraine,” he said.
“President Zelensky of Ukraine urged South Korea to provide weapons and other military equipment,” the article said. Asian countries, arms exporters growing into well-armed, US-backed militaries, have provided humanitarian and other assistance while participating in US-led sanctions against Moscow, but they have not been able to provide arms directly,” said a US official. In February, the US said it had agreed to purchase 100,000 shells from a South Korean manufacturer to supply to Ukraine. South Korea insists that the weapons sold are to replenish depleted U.S. stocks.”
Yoon said South Korean laws as well as domestic public opinion made it difficult for the government to arm Ukraine at war.
Regarding the arms trade, President Yoon said, "If the [Ukraine's] conflict is not quickly resolved, the international community can send a message to North Korea that it will not respond to acts of aggression with appropriate sanctions or punishment, and that message will encourage North Korea to carry out provocations." It will encourage more," he said.
The Associated Press expressed this remark as “expanding arms trade,” saying, “President Yoon expressed an open stance on similar deals in the future, and mentioned that the two allies regularly purchase military equipment from each other.”
Regarding the Itaewon disaster, the Associated Press said, “On the domestic front, President Yoon seemed still shaken by the tragedy that killed about 160 Halloween-goers in the Itaewon area of Seoul in late October and trampled on crowds.” He explained that he ran to the office. He said that at first he did not know how many people had died, but only later realized the scale of the disaster.”
“It is still difficult to fully understand how such a massive crowd accident could occur in a country with a system like ours, due to a failure in crowd management,” Yoon told the Associated Press. important,” he said.
Regarding the issue of responsibility, President Yoon told the Associated Press, "I have instructed (public officials) to thoroughly investigate the responsibility of the government because the results of the investigation to the victims and their relatives can serve as a basis for proving the government's responsibility."
The Associated Press reported in the article that "authorities have ordered a full investigation, but so far no high-ranking officials have lost their jobs, despite calls for greater responsibility from victims' families and opposition lawmakers."