Lee Jay Walker Dip BA MA

The Korean Peninsula remains divided but in recent times it looked like a fresh start was on the horizon because of the "sunshine policy" adopted by more pragmatic leaders within the last government.  North Korea, in return, responded favourably and you could see that a genuine thaw was happening.  However, the new leader of South Korea, Lee Myung Bak, is turning the clock back and quickly.  Now we are seeing the demise of the "sunshine policy" and the real threat of a maveric causing mayhem.  Therefore, will Lee Myung Bak wise up or will he upset the balance too much?

Before returning to the current leader of South Korea it is worth mentioning a little bit about the past.  After all, most people and societies have been manipulated to solely focus on the negatives of North Korea, however, what about the negatives of South Korea?

Therefore, which nation is more independent than the other?  The answer is obviously North Korea because it is South Korea which allows foreign armies to protect her.  Also, until the 1990s nearly every leader of South Korea could trace their family links to Japan and the imperial system.  So unlike the leaders of North Korea, who fought against Japanese imperialism, it is clear that South Korean leaders had supported Japanese imperialism against their own people.

Given this, the North Korean leaders do have a point about being "the heirs" of an independent nation.  However, if we focus on economics, then it is clear that since the 1980s the government of North Korea have been found wanting.  Because while South Korea began to develop rapidly the opposite happened in North Korea, and in this field much work needs to be done to kick start the North Korean economy.  So you clearly have positives and negatives within both nations.  However, from a North Korean point of view, they could have focused on their economy much more if  South Korea had not been so hostile.

For much of the past decade relations have begun to develop between South Korea andNorth Korea, and the "sunshine policy" did help to pave the way for better ties.  Some South Koreans complained that they "bent over backwards" in order to get only basic results, however, in truth the results were not so basic.  After all, you had a new regional economic zone, a new train service begun, South Korean tourists were welcomed in special areas, and trade began to increase. 

More important, the nuclear issue began to unravel in a positive nature and this was mainly due to both nations working together in order to foster mutual respect.  Yet this thaw and hope appears to be under threat because of the new leader.  Therefore, the new leader, Lee Myung Bak, went for the jugular from day one and he came out with anti-North Korean comments.  Even more alarming were comments made by a senior general who warned about a possible attack against North Korea.

Therefore, the changed government in South Korea is clearly anti-North Korea and pro-America and pro-Japan.  So Kim Jong-il responded in kind and he also began to become more assertative.  Given this, tensions are once more causing concern and the "old ways" are returning.  This recent situation is clearly not in the interest of any nation in the region because Northeast Asia needs stability, and not mayhem or racked up tensions.

Overall, the future of the Korean Peninsula now looks bleak again and you clearly have one person to blame for this, and this applies to the South Korean leader, Lee Myung Bak.  So can more moderate voices in South Korea rise up and prevent further tensions?  Or will he keep on blundering on?  For now, we still don`t really know because it is still early days for the new leader of South Korea, however, the omens do not look good, do they?

Lee Jay Walker Dip BA MA