After setbacks during the Lee Myung-bak administration (2008-13), incumbent South Korean President Park Geun-hye voiced interest in improving relations through a trust-building process.

And Park has taken steps – namely the establishment of a committee to prepare for reunification and her so-called Dresden Doctrine – but a prominent policymaker says her administration’s approach is not fundamentally different from her predecessor’s.

Moon Chung-in, who served as the primary architect of North Korea policy under the Roh Moo-hyun administration (2003-08), also serves on Park’s Presidential Committee on Unification Preparation (PCUP). Moon, however, said that Park’s policy is ultimately aimed at reunification through