Senior Presidential Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Security Ju Chul-ki has urged North Korea to follow the examples of Kazakhstan and Ukraine by abandoning nuclear weapons in exchange for economic aid and security assurance.

In his keynote speech for a forum in Seoul on Tuesday, Ju said that no country would promise cooperation and provide assistance unless Pyongyang abandons its nuclear weapons.

He called on the North to follow in the footsteps of Kazakhstan and Ukraine, saying that Kazakhstan received large-scale economic assistance and security assurance and achieved remarkable economic development in Central Asia.

The presidential secretary said that Ukraine also gave up nuclear weapons in return for economic aid.