South Korea has a new president and he is all about business, literally.  The conerstone of his campaign was all about maintaining and increasing South Korea's economic growth.  But on the front of foreign relations he offers a breath of fresh air, as he and his party are going take a harder line with the north and their not so dear leader.

From the Chosun Ilbo: Lee Myung-bak Elected President by a Landslide.

     Grand National Party presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak soared to victory in the 17th presidential election on Wednesday, missing an absolute majority by a hair’s breadth.

     Grand National Party presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak garnered 11,492,398 votes or 48.7 percent of the votes, beating United New Democratic Party rival Chung Dong-young by 5,317,708 votes. Chung notched up 6,174,681 votes or 26.1 percent. Independent Lee Hoi-chang came in third by winning 3,559,963 votes or 15.1 percent. The gap between president-elect Lee and second placer Chung was the largest since the direct presidential election system was re-introduced in 1987. In the 13th president election in 1987, the gap was 1.94 million votes. Lee achieved an unprecedented landslide victory with 5.32 million votes ahead of the second placer in a presidential race where 10 aspirants jostled for votes.

In other Korean News: The Looming Threat of N.Korea's KN-02 Missiles.

     On April 25 at a military parade in Pyongyang to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of its army, North Korea unveiled several new ballistic missiles -- which were keenly noted by intelligence communities in Seoul, Washington and Tokyo. There were 52 missiles of four kinds, carried on launching vehicles in groups of 13 past a reviewing stand.

     The KN-02 has a range of 100 to 120 km. If launched from near the DMZ, they could hit the U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek. They may seem insignificant compared with North Korea's other missiles which can travel 300 to 500 km to hit Daejeon or anywhere else in South Korea, or the Rodong missiles with a range of 1,300 km that can hit Japan.

     Nonetheless, senior U.S. government and military officials including Gen. Burwell Bell, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, regard the KN-02 as a serious threat. Experts say that despite its shorter range, the KN-02 has a few characteristics that make it very worrisome. First of all, it can be launched quickly because it uses solid fuel.

     Another strong point of the KN-02 is its accuracy. Although not confirmed yet, experts believe that it has an error radius of just 100 m. With that kind of accuracy the KN-02 could easily hit the central nerve network of the South Korean and U.S. militaries, including the Defense Ministry building in Yongsan, Seoul.

On a related note: What Japan’s Test Means for Korea's Missile Defense.

     Generally I remain very warry of North Korea, as does President Elect  Lee Myung-Bak.  Their recent shenanigans with the revelation that their is strong evidence that they did in fact engage in an enriched uranium program along side their plutonium efforts and the delays in meeting goals set forth in the six party talks makes me believe that Kim Jong-Il is not going to voluntarily give up his nuclear arsenal or know how.  The situation remains one bears watching as South Korea changes governments in the next couple of months, and what more is learned about what the North has and hasn't done vis-a-vis its nuclear program.

From Fox News: North Korean Tubes Found to Be Contaminated With Uranium Traces.

     WASHINGTON —  North Korea recently turned over to the United States equipment found to be contaminated with traces of highly enriched uranium — HEU — apparently contradicting the country's stance that it never had such a program, FOX News has confirmed.

     The equipment was described as a set of "smelted aluminum tubes" suitable for an HEU centrifuge program, a step necessary to make a nuclear weapon.

     "They got some 'splainin' to do," one U.S. arms control official said when first told of the discovery about a month ago, he recalled to FOX.

     However, North Korea claims the tubes were intended for use in the development of a conventional "artillery" weapon, sources told FOX News.

     As part of a six-nation disarmament deal, North Korea is disabling its Yongbyon nuclear reactor and related nuclear facilities, and is obligated to provide a "complete and correct" declaration of all their nuclear programs, weapons, and materiel by Dec. 31.

     American officials anxiously have been waiting to see whether, and to what extent, the North Koreans will acknowledge the existence of their HEU program, about which the United States first confronted Pyongyang in October 2002.

     The Koreans initially admitted to having an HEU program, said Mike Green, a former National Security Council staff aide who was present for the October 2002.

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