"So that makes a very different dynamic on the Korean Peninsula." Rather than dangling incentives for dialogue, the new administration, "will try to increase deterrence and close coordination through the US-ROK alliance," says Chung Kuyoun, a political scientist at Kangwon National University. But Yoon has made clear that Pyongyang must make active efforts toward denuclearization, before receiving any security guarantees or economic aid. The Moon administration called for a declaration ending the 1950-1953 Korean War, in order to entice North Korea to return to the negotiating table.
Yoon has said that South Korea would have to conduct a preemptive strike against North Korea, if a nuclear attack was imminent. Outgoing President Moon Jae-in held three summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but negotiations have been stalled since an abortive summit between Kim and then-President Donald Trump in Hanoi in 2019. In addition to long-standing divisions of ideology and geography, the election result also highlighted divergent views among generations and genders. The Democratic Party still holds a majority in parliament, and public opinion is deeply divided. Then again, Yoon faces many constraints at home. "I will make a principled, determined response to North Korea's illegal and unreasonable actions, but always keep the door open to inter-Korean dialogue," Yoon said Thursday at his first press conference as president-elect. The president-elect's pledge to get tough on North Korea could mark a sharp break with the outgoing liberal administration's policies. Voter turnout, at 77%, was similar to the last vote five years ago. It was the eighth presidential election since democratic elections resumed in 1987, after decades of military rule. Yoon, 61, of the conservative People Power Party, beat out liberal ruling party candidate Lee Jae-myung by less than 1%. Yoon Suk Yeol has promised a tougher line on North Korea, and a closer alliance with the U.S. SEOUL - South Korean voters chose a politically inexperienced conservative as president, in the nation's tightest race ever.
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