South Korean President Moon Jae-in has confronted a difficult political and security environment over his first year and a half in office. In this context, Carnegie’s first installment in an annual series provides a unique bird’s-eye view of political developments in the two Koreas, inter-Korean ties, and South Korea’s relations with the United States, Japan, and China.
If Moon overcomes these obstacles and creates irreversible change in inter-Korean relations, his policy will have a lasting impact on Seoul’s increasingly complex and difficult position in the region. It is unlikely Moon can sustain his approach toward North Korea unless he delivers on economic growth and job creation, forges a truly bipartisan North Korea policy, and ensures close cooperation with the United States on denuclearizing North Korea.
Moon’s approach to South Korea’s alliance with the United States, China’s role in the region, and the outcome of the 2020 South Korean National Assembly election are bound to impact South-North détente. However, potent political, economic, and geopolitical forces are likely to determine his agenda’s long-term success. Moon has allocated the bulk of his political capital to this cause, and it has paid dividends with inter-Korean summits, agreements, family reunions, and military confidence-building measures.
From the beginning of his presidency, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has consistently earned high approval ratings for engaging North Korea.
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