Suchergebnisse

South Korea's Moon Jae-in government has four China policy goals: (i) to resolve the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence) issue with China; (ii) to persuade China to play a more active role in North Korea's denuclearisation process; (iii) to facilitate Chinese President Xi Jinping's reciprocal visit to South Korea; and (iv) to connect the Belt and Road Initiative with President Moon's "New Northern Policy", which is ultimately driven to induce Xi's reciprocal visit.

South Korea will face enormous challenges on two fronts for 2019. The country's economic base will collapse because of the government's inability to counter the trap it has laid on itself with a dramatic elevation of minimum wage and tax rates on property and housing. The government will be diplomatically isolated for its blind love towards North Korea, and confronted with rising friction with Japan over history issues and China on Terminal High Altitude Area Defence.

The election of Moon Jae-in in South Korea signals a shift to a more conciliatory approach towards North Korea. Moon's basic strategy towards the North contradicts that of the United States, emphasising a "dual-track" policy of seeking North Korea's denuclearisation while calling for dialogue to facilitate inter-Korean summit and not North Korea's denuclearisation. Moon's acceptance of China's "Three oppositions" to the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defence is controversial as they are not within Korea's jurisdiction.

In 2016, a scandal that involved President Park Geun-hye and her confidante shook the country. Cases of bribery, corruption, nepotism, cronyism, illegal persecution of dissenters and so on surfaced. Confidence in Park's leadership began to waver when she closed the chapter on 'comfort women' issue with Japan in December 2015 without public consultation. The deal was unacceptable to the Korean public in the absence of a formal apology from the Japanese government. The speed with which President Park sealed the agreement with the United States to deploy Thermal High Altitude Area Defence also took the country by surprise. These foreign affairs endeavours have wiped out her diplomatic success achieved in 2015.

This article refutes the widely-speculated claims that China's charm offensive aims to drive a wedge between South Korea and the United States to pull the former closer to its side. South Korea, at least in theory, remains unswayed and can hold its posture, recognising an important strategic factor that interstate diplomacy is interest-driven. China's relations with South Korea are largely economics-driven. Economic motivations have compromised China's and South Korea's development of bilateral relations in the realm of hard politics, even though China is entirely cognizant of the North Korean factor, and of the diverging values that both countries uphold. (China/GIGA)

The year 2015 kicked off with South Korean President Park Geun-hye's approval rate taking a dive. Economically, for 2015 forecast, government-related think tanks offer favourable forecasts, but private institutions showed greater pessimism. Inter-Korean relations are likely to remain tumultuous. South Korea's relations with the United States are likely to remain strong and unshaken as the two had already kicked off the New Year by materialising the United States' long-sought military strategy involving Japan.

In 2013 South Korea elected Asia's first female president. President Park Geunhye enjoyed high approval rating of 60% on average, possibly due to her diplomatic success with the United States and China and her firm North Korean policy. Unemployment trended downwards and South Korea's Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea reopened amid controversies. Relations with the North are however likely to worsen with mounting speculation of Pyongyang's possible fourth nuclear test.

South Koreans made history in the year of 2012 when it elected its first female president. Having won the general election in April, president-elect Park Geun-hye will enjoy strong support from the legislature in implementing her campaign promises. Park and her party have embarked on an "economic democratisation" policy to realise a fair-competition economy. She is also committed to improving relations with the North and adopting a balanced diplomacy with South Korea's neighbouring states.