South Korea has elected a Left-wing president who has promised to strengthen ties with Kim Jong-un’s regime in the North. Lee Jae-myung, from the Left-leaning Democratic Party, won the snap vote on Tuesday, defeating Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party. The election came after months of chaos following former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s decision to impose martial law on the country in December 2024. While Mr Lee’s rags-to-riches story – rising from a factory worker to become president – has appealed to some in the country, many in South Korea see him as a divisive figure plagued by scandals, including with North Korea. Mr Lee campaigned on promises of greater dialogue with the North, while Mr Kim remained critical of engagement and instead vowed to use nuclear weapons to counter Pyongyang if needed. To engage with North Korea, Mr Lee said he would seek to restart communication via a hotline, which was previously used between the two countries before Pyongyang stopped responding in 2023. A new report from the US department of defence found that North Korea had reached its “strongest strategic position” in decades, making South Korea’s approach all the more critical.

Full report : South Korean president Lee Jae-myung plans to restart communication with North Korea at a time of ‘heightened threat’ via a disused hotline.