President Park Geun-hye is pushing hard for her plan to set up a multilateral development bank to finance infrastructure construction in North Korea and other parts of Northeast Asia.

Park first proposed the idea for the Northeast Asia Development Bank during her visit to Germany in March last year, pledging to help North Korea develop its economy if it gave up its nuclear ambitions.

On Monday, she pitched the plan to the leaders attending the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, calling for global cooperation to meet the huge demand for infrastructure investment in Northeast Asia.

She said if Pyongyang decided to abandon its nuclear program and open itself up, the Seoul government would work with the international community to build infrastructure in the North and adjoining regions, including China’s three northeast provinces and the Russian Far East.

Estimating the annual demand for infrastructure investment in this part of the world at $63 billion, she suggested that fresh investment in the region would create jobs and boost the global economy.

The proposed NEADB is essential to motivating North Korea to throw away its nuclear ambitions and open itself up to the world.

Pyongyang is unlikely to give up its nuclear program without a guarantee that the international community would come forward to provide economic support to it. Nothing could serve the purpose better than the bank.

But until recently, the Korean government had been cautious in promoting the bank, as it had difficulty persuading the United States and Japan.

The two allies balked at the idea because there was already a development bank in Asia -- the Asia Development Bank -- which could play the role that the proposed bank was expected to play.

But this position has become untenable, as China has launched the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a new multilateral infrastructure development bank for Asia, with the backing of 57 countries.

The AIIB, however, could also weaken Seoul’s case for the NEADB by raising the question of why yet another infrastructure development bank would be needed for Asia after the creation of the second one.

Yet the NEADB does not overlap with the ADB, which focuses on Southeast Asian countries, or the AIIB, which will specialize in western China. It is particularly designed to help the Northeast Asian region that lacks support from these banks.

The bank, if established as proposed, will complement the existing multilateral development banks and contribute to the economic integration of the Northeast Asia region, while financing infrastructure investment in North Korea.

To draw participation from other countries, the government needs to explain why the proposed bank is needed, how it would differ from the existing ones, and how it would contribute to the development of the region and beyond.   

Policymakers are also advised to speed up preparations for the establishment of the bank to give a clear signal to the North that the world is working to extend a helping hand to it.

Now, it is time for the North’s young leader to make a strategic decision. He should realize that he cannot resort to a reign of terror forever. Nuclear weapons are of little help for him to maintain power. Before it is too late, he should come forward for talks with the South.