Will South Korea’s new president restart dialogue with North Korea?

[ad_1] South Korea has elected a brand new president - liberal opposition candidate Lee Jae-myung - which represents a change in political course for the nation after the ouster of his conservative predecessor.

Video: Will South Korea’s new president restart dialogue with North Korea? Tuesday’s nationwide election follows months of turmoil after Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached for briefly imposing martial regulation in a transfer that despatched shockwaves by its democracy.

Lee gained by a cushty margin over his principal conservative rival, Kim Moon Soo, elevating questions on relations with South Korea’s key ally, the USA, and its principal adversary North Korea.

Lee has repeatedly pressured Washington as the muse of Seoul’s international coverage, as Yoon did, however he’s anticipated to take a softer strategy towards Pyongyang.

South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung, and his spouse Kim Hye-kyung, greet individuals after attending the Presidential Inauguration on the Nationwide Meeting in Seoul, June 4, 2025. (Lee Jin-man/Pool by way of Reuters) Throughout the marketing campaign, Lee promised lively engagement with North Korea, not like Yoon, however the massive query is whether or not North Korea is curious about resuming dialogue.

RFA Korean’s Jaewoo Park seems to be at whether or not it’s attainable for South Korea to revive the spirit of 2018, when there was a excessive stage of engagement between North and South and U.S. President Donald Trump held historic summits with North Korean chief Kim Jong Un.

The high-level diplomacy in the end failed to stop the North advancing its nuclear weapons program. Pyongyang has since hatched nearer ties with Moscow and despatched troops and weapons to help Russia’s warfare towards Ukraine.