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