Assessment of the Sunshine Policy: A Korean Perspective

This article assesses the Kim Dae Jung government’s Sunshine policy Tor the two years following the June 2000 North-South Korean Summit, focusing mainly on the merits, accomplishments, and impact of the policy. The main subjects are the policy’s objectives, the major features of the policymakers and their environments as structural constraints, and the policy’s achievements. Some of the criticisms leveled at the policy itself are refuted. The conclusion deals with the remaining tasks the incumbent South Korean administration must address in order to remold the Sunshine policy into a more viable and sustainable policy option for the succeeding administration.