South Korean leader says North Korea wants US attention by showing off nuclear might

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s recent disclosure of a nuclear facility was likely an attempt to grab U.S. attention ahead of next month's presidential election, and the North will likely stage major provocations like a nuclear test explosion and a long-range missile test, South Korea’s president says.

President Yoon Suk Yeol shared his government’s assessment on the recent moves by North Korea with The Associated Press, before he leaves Sunday for a three-nation trip that includes a stop in Laos for summits with Southeast Asian and other world leaders. At Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-related meetings, Yoon says he’ll emphasize that North Korea’s nuclear disarmament is essential to regional peace.

“At the upcoming ASEAN-related summits, I will stress the importance of denuclearization of North Korea, which is a prerequisite for realizing a free, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” Yoon said in written responses to questions from the AP.

“This will serve to send a clear message that the international community will never condone North Korea’s reckless actions,” he said.

Concerns about North Korea have grown in recent weeks, with the country unveiling a secretive uranium-enrichment facility, vowing to build more nuclear weapons and continuing its provocative missile tests. Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened to destroy South Korea with his nuclear weapons, if provoked.

Many foreign experts say North Korea eventually hopes to use an expanded nuclear arsenal as leverage to win outside concessions like sanctions relief, after a new U.S. president is elected. They say Kim likely thinks a win by Republican candidate Donald Trump, whom he engaged in high-stakes nuclear diplomacy in 2018-19, would increase his chances to get what he wants than Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. During campaigns, Trump boasted about his personal ties with Kim, while Harris said she won’t “cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un who are rooting for Trump.”

The Sept. 13 disclosure of the nuclear site showed Kim’s defiance of U.S.-led efforts to eliminate his advancing nuclear program. It was North Korea’s first unveiling of a facility to produce weapons-grade uranium since the country showed one at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex to visiting American scholars led by nuclear physicist Siegfried Hecker in 2010. Hecker said the centrifuge hall shown in the recent North Korean photos was not the same one that he saw in 2010.

“North Korea seems to have recently disclosed its nuclear facility in order to draw attention from the United States and the international community in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election, and it is likely that North Korea will carry out additional provocations such as nuclear tests and ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) launches going forward,” Yoon said.

Yoon didn’t elaborate whether South Korea has detected any suspicious activities in North Korea that indicate its preparations for nuclear and ICBM tests. He said South Korea is closely monitoring North Korea’s movements through the South Korea-U.S. combined intelligence and surveillance assets.

North Korea has conducted six underground nuclear tests since 2006, and numerous ICBM test-launches in recent years. Additional tests are likely meant to further hone its nuclear and missile capabilities. Many observers assess North Korea has yet to possess functioning nuclear missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland, though it likely has ones that can strike all of South Korea and Japan.

Since his inauguration in 2022, Yoon, a conservative, has made a stronger military alliance with the United States the center of his foreign policy to cope with North Korea's evolving nuclear threats. He’s also taken a major step toward moving beyond historical disputes with Japan to beef up a trilateral Seoul-Washington-Tokyo security partnership. Such moves have enraged North Korea, which has called Yoon “a traitor” and ignored his calls for dialogue.

There are some potential worries about the South Korea-U.S. alliance if Trump returns to the White House. He had previously asked South Korea to drastically increase its share for the cost of the U.S. military deployment on its soil. Some experts say Trump's possible push for a new round of negotiation with Kim could complicate Yoon's approach on North Korea's nuclear program.

But Yoon said that he's confident that the “ironclad” South Korea-U.S. alliance will continue to advance steadily regardless of the outcome of the U.S. election.

“There is a firm bipartisan support for the ROK-U.S. alliance in the United States,” Yoon said. “Numerous leading U.S. Democrats and Republicans have publicly stated their staunch support for the alliance and are continuously visiting Korea for consultations to enhance the bilateral relations.”

The ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's formal name.

Yoon also expressed confidence that South Korea and Japan will continue to advance their bilateral ties under Japan's new Cabinet led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who took office last week. Yoon's office said the two countries are discussing arranging a meeting between Yoon and Ishiba on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit.

Yoon said he believes North Korea's nuclear threats against South Korea are aimed at fomenting internal divisions in South Korea and tightening its domestic control with heightened military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

“The North Korean regime’s past claim that its nuclear development was never intended to target the Republic of Korea, since we are one nation, has been debunked,” Yoon said.

Asked about North Korea's repeated launches of trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea, Yoon said that North Korea “will face consequences that it will find difficult to withstand” if the safety of South Korean people is jeopardized. He didn't elaborate what specific steps his government is considering.

Before visiting Laos, Yoon is to travel to the Philippines and Singapore.

At the ASEAN-related summits, Yoon said that a key issue that South Korea plans to raise other than the North Korean nuclear program is the establishment of the ROK-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership. He said South Korea will further expand cooperation with ASEAN on a range of areas such as politics, military exchanges, cybersecurity, environments and a safety net against financial crises.

FILE - In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, oversees a launch of, what it says, the country's newly built Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 ballistic missile at an undisclosed place in North Korea, Sept. 18, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

FILE - Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a rally at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Mich., Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

FILE - Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign town hall Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Fayetteville, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, and U.S. President Donald Trump prepare to shake hands at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea, June 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - President Joe Biden, right, and South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol shake hands during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, April 26, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FILE - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers his remarks during the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Three Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 6, 2023. (Adi Weda/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers his speech during a celebration to mark the 76th anniversary of Korea Armed Forces Day in Seongnam, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - In this photo distributed by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, walks around what it says is a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on the launcher at an undisclosed location in North Korea, March 24, 2022. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

FILE - In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, visits a special operation forces unit at a western district in North Korea, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

FILE - This undated photo provided on Sept. 13, 2024, by the North Korean government shows its leader Kim Jong Un, center, on an inspecting visit at what they say is an institute of nuclear weapons and a facility for nuclear materials at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

FILE - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, boards the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier at the South Korean naval base in Busan, South Korea, June 25, 2024. (South Korean Presidential Office/Yonhap via AP, File)

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The death toll from Hurricane Helene inched up to 227 on Saturday as the grim task of recovering bodies continued more than a week after the monster storm ravaged the Southeast and killed people in six states.

Helene came ashore Sept. 26 as a Category 4 hurricane and carved a wide swath of destruction as it moved northward from Florida, washing away homes, destroying roads and knocking out electricity and cellphone service for millions.

The number of deaths stood at 225 on Friday; two more were recorded in South Carolina the following day. It was still unclear how many people were unaccounted for or missing, and the toll could rise even higher.

Helene is the deadliest hurricane to hit the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005. About half the victims were in North Carolina, while dozens more were killed in Georgia and South Carolina. The city of Asheville, in the western mountains of North Carolina, was particularly battered.

North Carolinians so far have received more than $27 million in individual assistance approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said MaryAnn Tierney, a regional administrator for the agency. More than 83,000 people have registered for individual assistance, according to the office of Gov. Roy Cooper.

In Buncombe County, where Asheville is located, FEMA-approved assistance has surpassed $12 million for survivors, Tierney said Saturday during a news briefing.

“This is critical assistance that will help people with their immediate needs, as well as displacement assistance that helps them if they can’t stay in their home,” she said.

She encouraged residents impacted by the storm to register for disaster assistance.

“It is the first step in the recovery process,” she said. “We can provide immediate relief in terms of serious needs assistance to replace food, water, medicines, other life safety, critical items, as well as displacement assistance if you cannot stay in your home.”

Helene’s raging floodwaters shocked mountain towns hundreds of miles inland and far from where the storm made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast, including in the Tennessee mountains that Dolly Parton calls home.

The country music star has announced a $1 million donation to the Mountain Ways Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing immediate assistance to Hurricane Helene flood victims.

In addition, her East Tennessee businesses as well as the Dollywood Foundation are combining efforts, pledging to match her donation to Mountain Ways with a $1 million contribution.

Parton said she feels a close connection to the storm victims because so many of them “grew up in the mountains just like I did.”

“I can’t stand to see anyone hurting, so I wanted to do what I could to help after these terrible floods,” she said. “I hope we can all be a little bit of light in the world for our friends, our neighbors — even strangers — during this dark time they are experiencing.”

Walmart U.S. President and CEO John Furner said the company, including Sam’s Club and the Walmart Foundation, would increase its commitment and donate a total of $10 million to hurricane relief efforts.

In Newport, an eastern Tennessee town of about 7,000, residents continued cleaning up Saturday from the destruction caused by Helene's floodwaters.

Mud still clung to the basement walls of one Main Street funeral home. The ground-floor chapel of another nearby was being dried out, a painting of Jesus still hanging on the wall in an otherwise barren room.

Newport City Hall and its police department also took on water from the swollen Pigeon River. Some of the modest, one-story homes along its banks were destroyed, their walls crumbled and rooms exposed.

Farther east in unincorporated Del Rio, along a bend in the French Broad River, residents and volunteers toiled to clean up. The smell of wood hung in the air as people used chainsaws to cut through downed trees, and Bobcats beeped as they moved mangled sheet metal and other debris. Many homes sustained damage, including one that slid off its foundation.

Associated Press journalists Jeff Roberson in Newport, Tennessee; Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa; and Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia, contributed.

A person clears debris left in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Del Rio, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Contractor Joshua Taylor stands in the basement of a funeral home that was flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene while working to clean up the building Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Newport, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Workers helping with clean up efforts stop for lunch under the shade of a tree as a building destroyed by Hurricane Helene is seen in the background Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Newport, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Paul Shaver looks a a building destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Newport, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Air movers circulate the air in an effort to dry out the chapel inside Costner-Maloy Funeral Home Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, which was flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, in Newport, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Debris left in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene is cleared Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Del Rio, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Contractor Joshua Taylor walks up stairs covered in mud leading to the basement of a funeral home that was flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene while working to clean up the building Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Newport, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Debris left in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene is cleared Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Del Rio, Tenn. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)