PM Modi greets South Korea's new president; says, 'look forward to working with Yoon Suk Yeol and strengthen ties'

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday greeted Yoon Suk Yeol on assuming the charge as South Korea president, and said he looked forward to meeting him soon and working together to further strengthen and enrich the ties between the two countries. Conservative Yoon took office on Tuesday, facing a tougher mix of foreign policy and domestic challenges than other recent South Korean leaders encountered at the start of their presidencies. PM Modi tweeted, “I extend my heartfelt greetings and good wishes to ROK President @sukyeol__yoon as he commences his term in office today. I look forward to meeting him soon and working together to further strengthen and enrich the India-ROK ties.”

Yoon Suk Yeol took office as South Korea’s new president Tuesday with a vow to pursue a negotiated settlement of North Korea’s threatening nuclear programme and an offer of an audacious plan to improve Pyongyang’s economy if it abandons its nuclear weapons. The former top prosecutor began his five-year term at midnight Monday by taking command of South Korea’s 555,000-member military and receiving a briefing on North Korea from his military chief at the new presidential office in central Seoul, formerly the Defence Ministry building. Since winning election in March, Yoon, who advocates a more hard-line approach toward North Korea, has been denied a honeymoon period. Surveys show less than 60 per cent of respondents expect he will do well in his presidency, an unusually low figure compared to his predecessors, who mostly received about 80-90 per cent before they entered office. The challenges that Yoon has at the start of his presidency are the toughest and the most unfavourable ones among South Korean presidents elected since the late 1980s, a period viewed as the start of the country’s genuine democracy after decades of dictatorship, said Choi Jin, director of the Seoul-based Institute of Presidential Leadership. Yoon, 61, has invited criticism even from some of his conservative supporters by moving his offices from the mountainside Blue House presidential palace. Yoon said moving to the capital’s centre is meant to better communicate with the public, but critics question why he has made it a priority when he has so many other urgent issues to tackle. Some of Yoon’s Cabinet picks have been embroiled in allegations of ethical lapses and misdeeds. His health minister was accused of using his status as head of a university hospital to help his children enter its medical school. The nominee denies the allegation. Yoon, a novice in domestic party politics as well as foreign policy, was prosecutor-general for Moon before he resigned and joined the main conservative opposition party last year following internal feuding with Moon’s political allies. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .