South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol uses inauguration speech to hint at bid to draw Kim Jong Un back to nuclear talks

Seoul — Conservative Yoon Suk Yeol took the oath on Tuesday to be sworn in as the new President of South Korea. The 20th president of the country delivered an inauguration speech vowing to build a nation that "truly belongs to the people."  

Much of the South Korean public's interest has been trained firmly on getting the nation's economy, and its society, back up and running after the devastating shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Yoon knew that he couldn't wait to address the nuclear-armed elephant in the room: South Korea's neighbor to the North, Kim Jong Un.

After threatening to teach "rude boy" Kim "some manners" during his election campaign, President Yoon made it clear that while he understood the threat, he wasn't closing the door on diplomacy — and he hinted at a looming bid to draw the North's dictator back to the negotiating table.