{"id":1199706,"date":"2023-09-04T06:15:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-04T06:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/korea\/nkorea-yoon-warn-09042023014815.html"},"modified":"2023-09-04T06:15:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-04T06:15:00","slug":"south-korea-warns-the-north-to-stop-nukes-program-or-risk-regime-instability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/09\/04\/south-korea-warns-the-north-to-stop-nukes-program-or-risk-regime-instability\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea warns the North to stop nukes program or risk regime instability"},"content":{"rendered":"
South Korea\u2019s President Yoon Suk Yeol has issued a fresh warning to North Korea Monday, urging Pyongyang to halt its nuclear program if it wants to avoid regime instability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNorth Korean authorities are wasting scarce financial resources on the development of nuclear and missile capabilities,\u201d Yoon said in a written interview with the Associated Press.\u00a0 \u201cConsequently, the hardships faced by North Koreans in their everyday lives are worsening, and its economy continues to register negative growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAmid such circumstances, unless North Korea stops its nuclear development, the regime\u2019s instability will continue to increase.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The South Korean leader on Monday also pressed China to take \u201cconstructive efforts to denuclearize North Korea.\u201d He added that Beijing must realize Pyongyang\u2019s nuclear provocations pose \u201ca negative effect on China\u2019s national interests by further disrupting regional order among other things.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Yoon\u2019s remarks came on the heels of\u00a0 North Korea\u2019s simulated strike on the South on Saturday, in what Pyongyang called a \u201ctactical nuclear attack\u201d drill\u00a0 to bolster its nuclear capability against Washington and Seoul.<\/span><\/p>\n North Korea launched two cruise missiles carrying mock nuclear warheads towards the West Sea of the Korean peninsula. The missiles traveled about 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) for more than two hours, before detonating at an altitude of 150 meters, the official Korean Central News Agency said. While firing cruise missiles isn\u2019t prohibited by the U.N., they present a significant threat to U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.<\/span><\/p>\n