S Korea urges unification efforts after Pyongyang threats

SEOUL, Mar 01 (AFP): South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called Friday for the international community to back "unification efforts" after Pyongyang earlier this year declared Seoul its "principal enemy".

Ties between the two Koreas have been in a deep freeze as Pyongyang accelerates its weapons development programmes and Seoul ramps up military cooperation with Washington and Tokyo.

Yoon, who has consistently taken a firm stance against nuclear-armed North Korea, has rarely discussed the topic of unification since assuming office in 2022.

"Our unification efforts must become a source of hope and a beacon of light for the people of North Korea," he said at a ceremony marking the anniversary of Korea's 1919 uprising against Japanese colonial rule.

"We must come together on a path that leads ultimately to unification" of the Korean peninsula, he said.