ANKARA

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday called for the unification of the Korean Peninsula, decrying Pyongyang and tagging Seoul as its "primary enemy."

"Now, we must move toward a free, unified Korean Peninsula where the people are its rightful owners," Yoon told an event to mark the 105th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement against Japanese colonial rule.

Recalling North Korea labeling South as its "primary foe" and "invariable principal enemy," Yoon said: "This is truly deplorable."

Pyongyang has ended all economic relations with Seoul, tagged it as the North's primary enemy, and the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, has suggested redefining relations with the South in its constitution.

"The tyranny and human rights abuses of the North Korean regime deny the universal values of humanity. Unification is precisely what is needed to expand the universal values of freedom and human rights," said Yoon.
On relations with Japan, Yoon said Seoul and Tokyo "are working together to overcome the painful past."

"Sharing the values of freedom, human rights and the rule of law, our two countries have become partners in pursuing common interests for global peace and prosperity," he said.

Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula for decades until World War II before vacating the region, which left the peninsula divided with the US siding with the South, where it has over 28,500 soldiers deployed since the 1953 Korean War, which ended in a truce.

Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have remained tense for several decades, but the relations have improved since Yoon took office in May 2022.

Last year, in a major headway in ending a decades-long wartime labor dispute with Japan, Seoul said it will pay the victims through a local foundation.

Yoon then traveled to Tokyo for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, becoming the first South Korean president to make a bilateral visit to Japan in 12 years.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid