Newly inaugurated South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol aims to denuclearise North Korean economy

In his inaugural address on May 10, 2022, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced ambitious plans to denuclearise the North Korean economy. Yoon follows in his predecessor’s footsteps by proposing economic packages in exchange for North Korean denuclearisation. The country’s 20th president, who won the election in March by a thin margin, inherited a divided domestic society in an increasingly unpredictable regional and global environment. He announced that South Korea will seek closer ties with Washington during his five-year term, to counterbalance an increasingly challenging US-China relationship. In a move seen as a response to rising US influence in South Korea, China sent Vice-President Wang Qishan to the inauguration.