Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s newly elected president, takes office facing tough choices on regional foreign policy which could shake up the country’s relations with its neighbours.
From the North Korean nuclear crisis to the deployment of a US missile shield that has infuriated Beijing, Mr Moon is under pressure to reassert South Korean influence, which waned to pitiful levels after the impeachment of the previous president earlier this year.
The election of the 64-year-old former special forces operative is likely to lead to a reconfiguration of the region’s geopolitics as Seoul rebalances its ties with the US, China and even North Korea.