Yoon warns North poses 'existential threat' to Indo-Pacific

President Yoon Suk Yeol underscored that North Korea's nuclear and missile development poses an "existential threat" to the Indo-Pacific region in a security forum bringing together key regional players in Indonesia Thursday.

From left, Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Indonesian President Joko Widodo arrive for the East Asia Summit as part of the 43rd Asean Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday. [AP/YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk Yeol underscored that North Korea's nuclear and missile development poses an "existential threat" to the Indo-Pacific region in a security forum bringing together key regional players in Indonesia on Thursday.

"North Korea's nuclear and missile development is a serious violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a direct challenge to world peace," Yoon said as he took part in the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Jakarta. "It's an existential threat that can target and strike all participating countries in today's meeting."

Yoon emphasized the need for all United Nations member states to comply with sanctions resolutions, noting that the permanent members of the UN Security Council bear a "heavier responsibility." The remarks appear to be aimed at China and Russia, two of the five veto-wielding members of the Security Council, who have often been accused by the United States and its allies of not doing enough to enforce North Korean sanctions.

"We must clearly show that the international community's resolve to stop North Korea's nuclear weapons program is much stronger than its will to develop it," Yoon told the participants.

The EAS is a regional security forum bringing together 18 countries, including the United States, China and Russia, as a part of a series of meetings involving the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) hosted by Indonesia this week.

Yoon again called to block illegal activities such as cryptocurrency theft, sending overseas workers and illegal transshipments, which are seen as sources of funneling foreign cash to fund North Korea's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program. He also highlighted North Korea's human rights situation, saying this is linked to its WMD problem.

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, shakes hands with Chinese Premier Li Qiang ahead of a bilateral meeting at the Balai Sidang Jakarta Convention Center Thursday on the sidelines of the Asean gathering in Indonesia. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Later Thursday afternoon, Yoon held a bilateral meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, seen as an opportunity to further discuss North Korea issues and economic cooperation.

This marks Yoon's first one-on-one talks with Li, China's second-in-command who assumed office in March and a close confidant of President Xi Jinping. The closed-door talks ran for 51 minutes, slightly longer than the initially allotted 30 minutes.

Yoon and Li met for the Asean Plus Three summit with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday, where Yoon stressed that the international community "must unite and clearly show that it will not sit idly by and ignore North Korea's nuclear and missile development."

Seoul and Beijing were in consultations to arrange the talks between Yoon and Li until the last minute.

A presidential official said that since Li is China's top economic official, discussions will focus on the economy and culture.

Yoon and Xi held their first bilateral summit in November 2022 in Bali, Indonesia, on the margins of last year's G20 gathering. It was the first bilateral summit between the South Korean and Chinese presidents since December 2019.

Yoon expressed hopes to revive cooperation between South Korea, Japan and China in the Asean Plus Three summit Wednesday.

South Korea is the current chair of the three-way summit with Japan and China, which has not convened since 2019.

On Wednesday, Yoon in a bilateral summit with Asean countries called for an immediate stop to any attempts at military cooperation with North Korea that undermines peace in the international community.

This appeared to be a response to reports of a possible meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok later this month, which could be an opportunity to secure a weapons deal amid the war in Ukraine.

During Thursday's EAS, Yoon stressed that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a clear violation of international law, according to the presidential office. He compared this to South Korea's own history of "illegal invasion" 70 years ago, in reference to the North's invasion in the 1950-53 Korean War.

Yoon highlighted South Korea's commitment to the "Ukraine Peace and Solidarity Initiative," a comprehensive package of security, humanitarian and reconstruction aid announced during his surprise visit to Kyiv for a summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in July.

Chinese Premier Li and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took part in the EAS this year.

Yoon said that any attempts to unilaterally "change the status quo" in the South China Sea will not be tolerated and emphasized the need to establish a rules-based maritime order in the area, calling it a key sea lane in the region.

He said that South Korea plans to expand maritime security cooperation with Asean to help protect freedom of navigation and flight.

Yoon expressed hopes for a South China Sea code of conduct, currently under negotiations, will be established to "ensure the legitimate rights of each country while respecting the principles of international law."

The EAS involves the leaders of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and South Korea, Australia, China, Japan, India, New Zealand, Russia and the United States.

President Yoon Suk Yeol takes part in the 18th East Asia Summit as part of the 43rd Asean Summit in Jakarta on Thursday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Yoon further highlighted that the Asean Perspective on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), Southeast Asia's version of its Indo-Pacific strategy, and Korea's own Indo-Pacific strategy announced last December have the same goal of achieving freedom, peace and prosperity in the region. He added that South Korea and Asean are seeking solidarity to establish a rules-based order under the principles of inclusion, trust and mutual benefits.

"The driving force that unites South Korea, the United States and Japan is the sense of responsibility for freedom, peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," Yoon said at the summit, in reference to the Camp David trilateral summit last month. He added that the "future growth and prosperity of the world will depend on the Indo-Pacific region."

Since Tuesday, Yoon has been taking part in a series of Asean-related meetings and bilateral talks in Indonesia as a part of a weeklong, two-country trip which will also take him to India for the G20 summit in New Dehli this weekend.

U.S. President Joe Biden skipped out on the Asean gathering in Indonesia but is scheduled to attend the upcoming G20 Summit in India bringing together the leaders of the world's 20 major economies, followed by a bilateral visit to Vietnam. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris attended the Asean gathering instead.

Yoon also held bilateral summits with leaders of countries including Cambodia and Laos.

He later took part in a Korea-Indonesia business roundtable.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is not expected to attend the G20 summit, which could have been an occasion for Yoon and Xi to have their second bilateral talks.

Yoon expressed hopes to revive cooperation between South Korea, Japan and China in the Asean Plus Three summit Wednesday.

South Korea is the current chair of the three-way summit with Japan and China, which has not convened since 2019.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]