The Yoon Suk-yeol administration was born as the eighth government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) since the country's democratization in 1987. The ROK government's North Korea policy has swung between two sides of the ideological spectrum with the change in government. Although changes have swept across international circumstances and situations on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea policy has remained locked in the repetition of existing discourse. Now is the time for North Korea policy to seek a new paradigm by leaving behind this déjà vu amidst changing external and internal circumstances.
Challenges facing the ROK take complex forms, with newly emerging challenges combining with old, structural, and circumstantial ones. North Korea's nuclear threats and arms race, albeit outdated challenges, appear renewed and increasingly threatening. South-South conflicts, although outdated as well, are morphing into something much more complicated. The new Cold War and global ecological crisis are new and structural challenges. Inter-Korean economic cooperation, hindered by sanctions, should explore a new path.
A new paradigm in North Korea policy should implement a sustainable policy adaptable to the changing environment and seek a resolution to the current challenges from a convergent engagement policy that strategically combines engagement and pressure. In addition, three-dimensional arms control, humanitarian cooperation, and a green détente should be set and promoted as the new agenda. A new paradigm of North Korea policy should embrace both the progressive and conservative camps and be undergirded by cooperative governance and consensus that connects the government, political parties, and civil society.