Unified Korea will contribute to peace in Indo-Pacific: Yoon

Oct 10, 2024, 08:09 am

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President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers the 47th Singapore Lecture on “A Vision for Korean Unification Towards a Free, Peaceful and Prosperous Indo-Pacific Region” at a hotel in Singapore on Oct. 9, 2024./ Source: Yonhap News

AsiaToday reporter Hong Sun-mi

President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Wednesday that a free and unified Korean Peninsula, if realized, would “dramatically advance peace not only on the Peninsula but also throughout the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”

During a prestigious lecture series in Singapore, President Yoon said, “If a free and unified Korean Peninsula is realized, the absence of North Korea’s nuclear threats would lead to a stronger international non-proliferation regime, which would tremendously boost efforts aimed at building peace and trust among countries both within and across regions.”

The Singapore Lecture is a globally famed lecture series organized by ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, formerly known as the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), with the support of the Singaporean foreign ministry. The lecture has invited renowned global figures, over the past four decades, including Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Yoon also said a unified, nuclear-free Korea would bolster global peace efforts and improve the safety of maritime navigation by reducing demand for illegal trafficking in the Indo-Pacific.

“A unified Korean Peninsula that is free and open will be a historic achievement expanding the value of freedom to a great extent. It will be a blessing for 26 million North Koreans suffering from poverty and tyranny, while also promoting freedom and human rights in the region and beyond,” he said.

“Korea, which has gained greater freedom, will contribute more to the freedom and human rights of the region and the international community,” Yoon said.

“A unified Korea that is free and open will also create a strong impetus for economic development and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” he said.

“An open Korean Peninsula will serve as a link connecting the Pacific, the Korean Peninsula and the Eurasian continent, unlocking a vast market,” he said.

When asked whether the Aug. 15 Doctrine which was announced in his National Liberation Day speech in August, Yoon said, “The doctrine reflects my commitment to strengthening Korea’s value system with freedom at its core, my commitment to broadly communicating a message of hope to North Korea on what unification based on freedom can bring and my commitment to increasing solidarity with the global community in realizing this vision.” He pledged to boost the international community’s commitment to realizing a unified Korean Peninsula that is free and open, through regular hosting of the International Korean Peninsula Forum.

#Yoon Suk-yeol #Singapore Lecture