Korean Peninsula 2021: Managing the crisis and adapting to new situations

After the initial shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, during 2021 the two Koreas focused their efforts in managing the crisis and adapting to the changed situ- ation. If, on the one hand, North Korea maintained its strategy of total isolation to protect the country from the spread of the new virus, South Korea, on the other, im- plemented a series of measures aimed at preserving an almost normal social and eco- nomic life, which culminated with the launch of the so-called «living with COVID» strategy towards the end of the year. The implementation of the plan, however, was immediately threatened by the arrival of the new and extremely contagious «Omicron» variant. Despite the pandemic, political developments continued on the peninsula. In South Korea, Moon Jae-in’s administration had to face a decline in its approval ratings. Meanwhile the fight for the presidential elections, scheduled for March 2022, started to dominate the political agenda with the emergence of the two main contenders: Lee Jae-myung for the progressive Democratic Party and former general prosecutor Yoon Suk-yeol for the conservatives. In North Korea, the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea – the main event of 2022 – saw a further consolidation of Kim Jong Un’s position, elected also general secretary of the party, and a renewed attention to the problems of domestic economic development, with a strategy based on self-reliance. Inter-Korean relations did not experience significant developments and continued to be characterized by Pyongyang’s confrontational attitude towards Seoul, despite the continued efforts of the Moon administration to restart some form of dialogue. The massive resumption of missile launches during the year certainly contributed to maintaining relations difficult. The election of a new US president represented a major development for the foreign policy of both Koreas. South Korea was able to resolve some pending issues and rein- force the alliance; but the prioritization in Washington of a strategy to counter China reduced the space for Seoul to remain neutral in the rivalry. North Korea, on its part, maintained a hostile position vis-à-vis Washington, thus making the resumption of any form of dialogue very complicated.