North Koreans have mixed reactions to South Korea’s new pro-engagement president

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As South Korean President Lee Jae-myung begins his time period pledging dialogue and financial cooperation with Pyongyang, North Koreans—each at house and overseas—are reacting with a mixture of hope, indifference, and deep-rooted skepticism.

In accordance with sources inside North Korea, the result of South Korea’s twenty first presidential election shortly unfold among the many inhabitants after Lee’s victory on Tuesday. North Korean authorities confirmed Lee’s win through state media the next day, providing solely a quick, commentary-free report.

In interviews with RFA’s Korean Service, a number of North Korean residents expressed disillusionment with previous inter-Korean outreach efforts and remained uncertain that new management in Seoul would result in any materials change of their day by day lives.

“Folks keep in mind that former South Korean presidents like Kim Dae-jung and Moon Jae-in have been pleasant towards the North,” stated a resident of North Hamgyong Province who requested anonymity for security causes. “However their insurance policies did nothing to enhance the dwelling requirements of strange North Koreans. So there’s a variety of cynicism now.”

The supply added that whereas Lee’s said curiosity in inter-Korean dialogue had generated some preliminary consideration, many within the North imagine that hostility between the 2 governments—nonetheless technically at conflict—will restrict any actual progress.

One other supply in North Pyongan Province echoed the sentiment. “Regardless of who turns into the president within the South, it’s at all times the identical,” the resident stated. “They discuss peace and unification, however nothing ever actually modifications for us.”

North Korean merchants are upbeat Some officers inside North Korea’s overseas commerce sector, nonetheless, appeared extra optimistic.

In Dalian and Shenyang, two Chinese language cities the place many North Korean enterprise officers are primarily based, information of Lee’s election was met with guarded hope. One commerce official in Dalian advised RFA that he had been carefully following South Korean media protection all through the election and was “glad” to see Lee, a Democratic Occasion candidate, win.

“A few of us gathered this morning on the logistics middle in Dandong,” he stated. “Folks have been saying Lee’s victory may very well be a very good signal for inter-Korean financial cooperation.”

Restaurant operators and businesspeople in China, lots of whom depend on South Korean clientele, additionally welcomed the information. “When inter-Korean tensions rise, we see a steep drop in South Korean clients,” stated a North Korean restaurant proprietor in Shenyang. “So a president like Lee, who would possibly revive cross-border ties, offers us hope for higher enterprise.”

On account of authorities measures, North Korean eating places overseas haven't accepted South Korean clients since 2023. Nevertheless, in periods of improved inter-Korean relations, South Koreans have been allowed to go to and have been a significant supply of revenue for these institutions.

North treats South as ‘hostile separate state’ Observers notice that Lee’s predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, took a hardline stance on North Korea, which contributed to a protracted freeze in inter-Korean exchanges. Lee, in contrast, emphasised diplomacy and engagement in his inaugural tackle.

“Whereas we'll firmly reply to provocations, we'll hold communication channels open with the North,” Lee stated throughout his swearing-in ceremony on the Nationwide Meeting on Wednesday. “Via dialogue and cooperation, we goal to construct peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

Regardless of these phrases, some North Koreans stay unconvinced. “Except inter-Korean relations result in tangible advantages for folks’s lives, there shall be little enthusiasm right here,” stated the supply in North Hamgyong Province. “Proper now, most individuals don’t see a lot to be hopeful about.”

In distinction to previous elections, North Korea hasn’t commented a lot on this marketing campaign and the result.

In earlier elections, significantly these leading to conservative victories, North Korea media greeted the outcome with hostile commentary. This time, they merely reported Lee’s win with out ideological framing or criticism.

Analysts say this restraint aligns with Pyongyang’s present doctrine of treating South Korea as a “hostile separate state,” a stance solidified since late 2023.

Former U.S. diplomat Evans Revere advised RFA this displays a proper shift in coverage by the Folks’s Democratic Republic of Korea, or DPRK, because the North is formally identified.

“It's now formally the coverage of the DPRK management and ruling occasion not solely to chop off all communication with the South but additionally to desert the very concept of reunification and reconciliation,” Revere stated.

“There are actually no ties, no contacts, no communications—nearly nothing in frequent between the 2 sides,” he stated.

Video: Will South Korea’s new president restart dialogue with North Korea? Victor Cha, a former White Home official and Korea Chair on the Middle for Strategic and Worldwide Research suppose tank in Washington, famous that Lee’s administration remains to be rooted within the progressive perception that inter-Korean engagement and reconciliation are important.

“I feel he'll proceed to make that time and press ahead with it,” Cha stated at a CSIS occasion, however he was skeptical it might work, including: “The North Koreans don't seem like thinking about participating.”