SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol offered “audacious” economic assistance to North Korea on Monday if it abandons its nuclear weapons program, while avoiding harsh criticism of the North days after it threatened “deadly” retaliation over a COVID-19 outbreak it blames on the South.
In a speech celebrating the end of Japan’s colonization of the Korean Peninsula, Yoon also called for better ties with Japan, calling the two countries partners in navigating challenges to freedom and saying their shared values will help them overcome historical grievances linked to Japan’s brutal colonial rule before the end of World War II.
Yoon’s televised speech on the liberation holiday came days after North Korea claimed a widely disputed victory over COVID-19 but also blamed…
