Ahead of his diplomatic tour this week, President Yoon Suk Yeol said he will call for active deterrence against North Korea’s cryptocurrency extortion, overseas laborers and maritime commerce suspected to finance the regime’s nuclear and missile development.

In a written interview with The Associated Press released on Monday, Yoon said the North's finances for the development of weapons of mass destruction can be blocked to a significant extent so long as existing United Nations Security Council sanctions are faithfully implemented.

He forecast instability within the regime to continue to increase as authorities waste scarce financial resources on nuclear and missile development, aggravating daily hardships faced by the people.

Yoon urged China, Pyongyang’s traditional ally, to put forth "constructive efforts" to achieve denuclearization and realize that the country’s nuclear program adversely affects Beijing’s national interests by disrupting regional order.

The president will depart for Indonesia's Jakarta on Tuesday to attend a number of multilateral forums hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations before heading to New Delhi, India for the Group of 20 summit.

[Photo : YONHAP News]