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| China-Japan-Koreas | |
| SKorea conservatives set to win election | |
| 2008-04-06 | |
| SEOUL - The conservative party of new South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak is poised to win Wednesday’s general election despite a barrage of threats from North Korea against his administration, analysts say. The former CEO won a huge victory over his liberal rival in December’s presidential poll with his “Economy First!” pledge. Lee now wants his ruling Grand National Party (GNP) to secure a parliamentary majority over the liberal United Democratic Party (UDP) so he can enact sweeping changes designed to revitalise the economy. And even though North Korea last week labelled him a traitor, a US sycophant and a political charlatan, he is likely to get his wish. North Korea announced Thursday it was suspending all dialogue with South Korea, the culmination of a week of growing cross-border tensions. It has also expelled South Korean officials from a joint industrial complex, test-fired missiles and threatened to turn the South into “ashes” should Seoul launch any pre-emptive strike. Pyongyang is furious at Lee’s tougher line linking economic aid to the North’s progress in nuclear disarmament, and at his declared readiness to raise the issue of human rights abuses. Lee’s government “is driving North-South relations to confrontation and catastrophe,” North Korea said Thursday. Analysts say the North may be testing Lee’s resolve and trying to sway people against the GNP. “North Korea’s recent threats are causing concern and are certain to sway some voters. But unlike in the past, the impact is not so big this time,” said Park Myung-Ho, a Dongguk University political science professor. “Our political culture is mature enough to digest such developments. North Korea is no longer a decisive factor in South Korean elections.”
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| Posted by: |
| #1 Yet another country chooses a conservative government. Australia aside, this seems to be a trend. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-04-06 15:12 |