1. The Lee Myung-Bak Government's North Korea Policy and the Prospects for Inter-Korean Relations
- Author:
- Hong Nack Kim
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Journal of Korean Studies
- Institution:
- International Council on Korean Studies
- Abstract:
- The inauguration of the Lee Myung-Bak government on February 25, 2008, aroused expectations that President Lee's new North Korea policy would bring about more effective results in dealing with Pyongyang, including the realization of denuclearization of North Korea. Contrary to initial expectations, Lee's North Korea policy has encountered unexpected problems and challenges as North Korea has not only suspended official inter-Korean dialogue and contacts since April but also refused to resume the talks with Seoul unless the Lee government would accommodate Pyongyang's demands: (1) to honor the two inter- Korean summit agreements: the June 15 Joint Declaration (2000) signed between Kim Dae-Jung and Kim Jong-Il and the October 4 (2007) Declaration signed between Kim Jong-Il and Roh Moo-Hyun; (2) to discard the Lee government's “Vision 3000: Denuclearization and Openness”; and (3) to abandon the strategy of strengthening South Korea's alliance with the U.S. and Japan to pressure North Korea. In short, North Korea wants the Lee government to continue the sunshine policy of engagement toward the North. However, it is difficult for the Lee government to accommodate the North's demand, for President Lee promised during the presidential election campaign in 2007 to discard the sunshine policy as it had failed not only to prevent North Korea's nuclear weapons program but also to induce North Korea to adopt reform and openness.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- North Korea