Seoul, (AFP) - South Korean President Yun Sok Yul announced Monday that he would offer a large aid package to Pyongyang in exchange for its denuclearization, an offer North Korea has long rejected.

Seoul's proposal comes days after Pyongyang threatened to "eliminate" the South Korean authorities against the background of the recent outbreak of the Corona virus in the North, and less than a month after leader Kim Jong Un declared that his country was "ready to mobilize" its nuclear capabilities in any war with the United States and the South. .

South Korean President Yoon, who has previously described denuclearization as "essential" to achieving lasting peace on the peninsula, detailed Monday a large-scale aid plan that includes food and energy as well as help to modernize infrastructure such as ports, airports and hospitals.

"The bold initiative I envisage will greatly improve North Korea's economy and the livelihood of its people in stages if the North stops developing its nuclear program and embarks on an honest and steady process of denuclearization," Yoon said in a speech marking the anniversary of liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945. .

Analysts in the region say the chances of Pyongyang accepting a similar offer - first floated during Yoon's inauguration speech - are slim, because North Korea, which invests a large portion of its gross domestic product in its weapons program, has long made clear it will not enter into a deal. like this.

Washington and Seoul have repeatedly warned in recent months that North Korea is preparing for another nuclear test, which will be the seventh in its history.

Kim Jong Un's regime conducted a record number of weapons tests this year, including an intercontinental ballistic missile, for the first time since 2017.