Yoon offers deal to North to abandon nuclear weapons

The new president, Yoon Sukyeol, has offered North Korea “an audacious plan” to transform its creaking economy in return for abandoning its nuclear weapons programme.

Speaking on the first day of his presidency, Yoon said: “While North Korea’s nuclear weapon programmes are a threat not only to our security and that of northeast Asia, the door to dialogue will remain open so that we can peacefully resolve this threat.”

North Korea has previously rejected incentives tied to progress on abandoning its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.