SOUTH Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol offered “audacious” economic assistance to North Korea today if it abandons its nuclear weapons programme.

In a speech celebrating the end of Japan’s colonisation of the Korean peninsula, Mr Yoon also called for better ties with Japan, saying their shared values will help them overcome historical grievances linked to Japan’s brutal colonial rule before the end of World War II.

Mr Yoon, a conservative who took office in May, said North Korea’s denuclearisation is key for peace in the region and the world.