President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers a speech during a ceremony to commemorate deceased veterans of the Korean Liberation Army at Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak District, Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap

President expected to drop hints at Liberation Day speech

By Nam Hyun-woo

A series of recent meetings with senior U.S. officials dealing with issues on the Korean Peninsula are raising speculation that President Yoon Suk-yeol will soon unveil his "audacious plan," possibly a set of incentive packages, to entice North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

Based on remarks and indications by the presidential office and Cabinet members dealing with the issue, the plan is anticipated to boil down to providing economic support and security guarantees to the North Korean regime.

However, diplomatic observers believe that it remains to be seen if Yoon's plan will come to fruition amid uncertainties that the Kim Jong-un regime is unlikely to respond to it.

The audacious plan, unveiled at his inauguration speech, May 10, refers to Seoul's preparation to work with the international community to come up with measures that will vastly strengthen North Korea's economy and improve the quality of life for its people if the North embarks on a process toward complete denuclearization. Key details are likely to be announced today when Seoul marks National Liberation Day or during a press conference, Wednesday, which marks the 100th day of Yoon's inauguration.

During a press conference, July 22, Unification Minister Kwon Young-se hinted that Yoon's plan will contain "not only economic support but also a measure to address the North's security concerns," Pyongyang's logical ground for not giving up its nuclear weapons.

According to the presidential office, Yoon met with U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera and U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg at a closed-door dinner on Aug. 9. On Friday, the president had successive meetings with former U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and U.S. Senator Ed Markey, the chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy.

Although details of their meetings were not disclosed, the president is believed to have had discussions on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, especially the direction of the Yoon government's North Korea policy.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gestures as he delivers a speech at a national meeting reviewing emergency anti-epidemic measures in Pyongyang on Aug. 10, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 11. Yonhap