Kim Jong Un holds all the cards on the Korean Peninsula
Gabriela Bernal is a Korean affairs analyst based in Seoul and a non-resident fellow at the European Centre for North Korean Studies.
The election of Lee Jae-myung as South Korea's president represents a decisive return to progressive leadership in Seoul, yet expectations of a renewed era of inter-Korean detente are premature. Despite his liberal credentials, Lee's presidency faces overwhelming obstacles to meaningfully improving relations with North Korea in the near term.
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