Moon Jae-in wins South Korea’s presidential election

[Zsari]

It's mixed news for China too. Sunshine Policy will dissipate any leverage China has over N. Korea, because then Kim will no longer be so isolated as he will have an alternative source of hard currency, petroleum, critical commodities, luxury goods, etc. In that case, it would be meaningless for US to ask China to apply more pressure.

Not necessarily. That'll depend on whether S.Korea's reproach with N.Korea is with the blessing of the US or not. If US is able to sit down with N.Korea and negotiate a peace deal, then that will not work in China's favor, but with today's political climate that's next to impossible to achieve. If however S.Korea dealing with N.Korea is without US consent, not necessarily over US objection, then its great news for China. For one, in the long run, there will be frictions between S.Korea and the US that will pull it slowly away from the US. For another, Kim still saw US as the biggest threat to his regime survival, and a lot of the items you mentioned are in the US hand, not S.Korea's, as such it is unlikely for the north to move its reliance away from China to a significant degree. Afterall, if US decides to put on pressure, it'll then need to first rein in S.Korea which even if successful will still strain the relation between the two, and N.Korea will be back in the same corner.

 

[TaiShang]

China willing to work with S. Korea, Xi tells Moon in phone conversation
CGTN Published: 2017-05-11 13:05:08

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and South Korea's newly-elected President Moon Jae-in (R).[Photo: CGTN]

Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated South Korea's newly-elected President Moon Jae-in in a phone conversation on Thursday.

President Xi said China and South Korea are important countries in the region, and bilateral relations have brought fruitful results and benefited people of both nations. The relationship has contributed to regional peace and development since the two countries established diplomatic ties 25 years ago, he added.

Xi also said China is willing to work with South Korea to strengthen political mutual trust, enhance negotiations and handle disputes.

President Moon said that South Korea puts a high value on the relationship between the two nations, and is willing to improve the bilateral relationship with China.