South Korea's Yoon slams 'truly deplorable' North Korean remarks, calls for unification

SEOUL, March 1 (UPI) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for unification with North Korea in a speech Friday, while condemning the "repressive rule" of the Pyongyang regime.

"Unification is not just an issue confined to the Korean Peninsula," Yoon said in televised remarks celebrating the 105th anniversary of Korea's independence movement against Japanese colonizers.

"The tyranny and human rights abuses of the North Korean regime deny the universal values of humanity," he said. "Unification is precisely what is needed to expand the universal values of freedom and human rights."

Yoon's comments come as inter-Koerean tensions are at their highest in years, amid a steady stream of weapons tests and bellicose rhetoric from the North and a stronger military stance from the South.

Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un proclaimed South Korea the "principal enemy" and publicly rejected a longstanding official policy goal of peaceful reunification.

Yoon called the declaration "truly deplorable."

"North Korea still continues its totalitarian system and repressive rule and is unable to escape from the worst forms of degradation and poverty," he said. "The North Korean regime relies solely on nuclear weapons and missiles while trapping its 26 million citizens in a quagmire of misery and despair."

Yoon also hailed Seoul's improving relationship with Tokyo, saying the two have become "partners" after a painful history that includes Japan's 1910-1945 colonial occupation of Korea.

Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has moved to repair frayed ties with Japan, which cratered after a 2019 ruling by South Korea's Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies to compensate Korean victims of wartime forced labor.

Seoul proposed a plan last March to compensate the victims through a public foundation without demanding contributions from Japan, leading to a series of summits between Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The thawing relationship has also led to stronger trilateral security ties with the United States against North Korean nuclear and missile threats, including a three-way summit in Camp David in August.

"Now, Korea and Japan are working together to overcome the painful past," Yoon said Friday.

"Sharing the values of freedom, human rights and the rule of law, our two countries have become partners in the pursuit of common interests for global peace and prosperity."