Where Will South Korea's New President Take The Country?

Moon had expressed reservations over the deployment of the US anti-missile system THAAD during his election campaign, Lin said. Moon criticized the South Korean government for being too rash over the THAAD issue and believed the new government needs to reevaluate the situation, according to Ling. In the meantime, he said, the US has regretted promising to pay for the defense system, with US President Donald Trump reportedly asking South Korea to pay US$1 billion. Even though both defense departments have denied that there will be a charge, Ling said, the US is still likely to make up for the cost in its other deals with South Korea.　　

Given such unwillingness expressed by both sides, Ling said, the THAAD deployment is likely to face uncertainties. That shall give Moon additional time to deal with the issue, he said, adding that an opportunity has come for Moon to work out a solution that would hopefully get the approval of both China and the US.　　

Even after Moon takes office, maintaining the US alliance will still be the axis  of South Korean foreign policy, said Wang Sheng, dean of the school of public administration at Northeast China’s Jilin University, according to news site The Paper. The first destination of Moon’s diplomatic visit will still be the US, Wang predicted.　　

But since Moon was once a key member of the Roh Moo-hyun government that pioneered the Sunshine Policy toward the North, Wang said, he will likely keep improving relations with North Korea and oppose the US imposition of sanctions. This means more negotiations are likely between South Korea and the US.　　

Moon might have to explain to Trump why he insists on improving relations with North Korea, Wang said. Moon’s approach is ultimately a warm-up to official peace negotiations with the North. His fundamental goal is to denuclearize the peninsula. Therefore, Wang said, despite their possibly antagonistic approaches, South Korea and the US in fact share the same purpose.