By Kang Seung-woo
President Park Geun-hye made a fresh aid-for-denuclearization offer to North Korea, Monday, pledging to help the reclusive country attract international investments of up to $63 billion (73.9 trillion won) annually if Pyongyang gives up its nuclear program.
During a session at the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, Park called for international support for her initiative to establish a Northeast Asia Development Bank (NADB) to spur economic development in the North and in surrounding areas.
“If the North gives up its nuclear program and embraces openness, the South will join hands with the international community to invest in infrastructure in the North and other parts of Northeast Asia,” Park said.
Park has promised to provide economic support in exchange for the North’s abandonment of its nuclear program, but it was the first time for the President to be specific about Seoul’s aid plan.
“With growing global infrastructure investments, Park made a proposal that specializes in Northeast Asia to the G20 for the first time, and it attracted interest from world leaders,” Cheong Wa Dae said.
Despite international pressure, the Kim Jong-un regime has refused to give up its nuclear weapons program that it believes is a powerful deterrent against what it claims is a hostile American foreign policy. In addition, the country is pursuing its economic goals, while also continuing its nuclear program in the so-called “Byungjin Line.”
As part of helping the North win international development funds for economic development, Park seeks to set up the NADB in cooperation with existing global financial bodies.
“It is a good idea to work together with the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB),” Park said during the meeting.
President Park proposed the plan for the development bank in her “Dresden declaration” in March last year in Germany.
The declaration is a package of proposals calling for bolstering exchange with the North and at the time, Park said that South Korea would correspondingly be the first to offer active support, including much needed membership in international financial institutions and attracting international investments.
Since the proposal, the South Korean government has sought support from the NADB’s potential key members.
On Sept. 2, Park told Chinese Premier Li Keqiang that the proposed bank and the China-led AIIB could be complementary because the NADB would specialize in development in China’s Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang Provinces, as well as Russia’s Far East.
On Sept. 15, Vice Finance Minister Joo Hyung-hwan called for U.S. cooperation and interest during a meeting with U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs Nathan Sheets, stressing that the bank will contribute to peace and stability in the region.