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Conservative Yoon Suk-yeol won the polls by a slim margin and this March 10 he outlined the first diplomatic guidelines that his Administration has planned. Mainly, to continue the reconstruction of the relationship with North Korea, which had positive advances during the outgoing government, but which became more rigid in the discourse. China, Japan – with whom he has conflicting issues – and the United States, the other three countries targeted.
There was less than 250,000 votes difference between the conservative opposition Yoon Suk-yeol and the ruling liberal Lee Jae-myung. Only 0.73% defined the presidential elections in South Korea after a low-quality campaign, which was more of a race to see which figure wore out less amid accusations, disqualifications and emerging scandals.
Finally it was Suk-Yeol, a 61-year-old former attorney general -he held office until 2021-, who claimed victory over his opponent. In his first hours as president, he called for “unity”, “common sense” and affirmed his intention to have “always open” the line of dialogue with North Korea to continue with the de-escalation of tensions that began in the last years.
However, unlike now former President Moon Jae-in, his position is more rigid when referring to Pyongyang. He assured that he will try to reinforce the national defenses as a method of dissuasion and of any “provocation”. He also warned that he will respond “severely” if “illegal or unreasonable actions” take place.
The context regained tension at the beginning of the year after Kim Jong-un’s regime retraced weapons tests that involved hypersonic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic projectiles. In Pyongyang there was still no official statement on Suk-Yeol’s victory.
North Korean propaganda media reported that this Thursday Kim will tour national aerospace facilities where satellites are being developed to spy on the United States and its allies.
The United States, the alliance against North Korean “threats”
Yoon had a telephone contact with President Joe Biden, who congratulated him for winning the elections and expressed the desire to strengthen bilateral ties, defined as “the axis of peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific”.
In addition, they reaffirmed a commitment to form a “coordination to respond to the threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs,” they spread from the White House.
One of the specific points for the reinforcement of joint capabilities is the deployment of additional THAAD missile systems, an issue that may generate resentment with China, which believes that this is a threat to its national security.
I spoke today with President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol of the Republic of Korea to congratulate him on his election. I look forward to working with him to continue to strengthen the US-ROK Alliance and take on shared global challenges. pic.twitter.com/mJScMNK3Np
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 10, 2022
Biden underscored the US commitment to South Korea’s defense and conveyed to Yoon his intention to “deepen cooperation on key global challenges, including climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chains.”
China, Japan and the aspiration to maintain relations of “respect”
The two most important powers in Asia have had disagreements with South Korea, although for all three parties it is vital to have solid and cordial ties with each other.
On Thursday, Yoon Suk-yeol said he aims to have a relationship of “mutual respect” with Beijing. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian commented that “China and South Korea are neighboring countries and important partners.”
“Diplomatic relations have benefited both countries and actively contributed to the development of the region. We look forward to working with the new government,” she added.
For his part, regarding contacts with Tokyo, which have been disfigured in recent years by conflicts over Japan’s occupation of Korea prior to World War II, Yoon stated that he will seek to achieve a link that “looks forward.”
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida referred to this, congratulating the new South Korean president and sharing the desire to have “healthy” contacts with Seoul. However, Tokyo’s decision to nominate former mines where Koreans were subjected to forced labor as a UNESCO World Heritage Site was not a good start.
with EFE