As the Korean Presidential race enters its final hundred days and candidates reveal their platforms and positions, questions arise as to their plans for Inter-Korean relations. The imminent departure of Lee Myung-Bak has left some North Korea watchers hopeful of fresh faces bringing with them a renewed stance of Korean co-operation.
It’s not an improbable hope. The wider Korean public seem to have lost appetite for most things associated with the Lee Myung-Bak administration (with approval ratings as low as 30%), with many fed up of his often confrontational style. The Asan Institute has seen a recent shift in citizen attitudes with polls indicating that the public now sees the DUP (the party of the left which previously championed the "sunshine policy") as the best party for future North-South relations. In this regard, the Institute note:
As the Korean Presidential race enters its final hundred days and candidates reveal their platforms and positions, questions arise as to their plans for Inter-Korean relations. The imminent departure of Lee Myung-Bak has left some North Korea watchers hopeful of fresh faces bringing with them a renewed stance of Korean co-operation.
It’s not an improbable hope. The wider Korean public seem to have lost appetite for most things associated with the Lee Myung-Bak administration (with approval ratings as low as 30%), with many fed up of his often confrontational style. The Asan Institute has seen a recent shift in citizen attitudes with polls indicating that the public now sees the DUP (the party of the left which previously championed the "sunshine policy") as the best party for future North-South relations. In this regard, the Institute note:
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