[The Hankyoreh, January 2 2008] [Editorial] Continuing South Korea’s leading role

The joint editorial appearing on New Year's Day in North Korea's three main newspapers is considered the Pyongyang government's New Year's address. This year's editorial used the term "peaceful prosperity" (pyeonghwa beonyeong) several times over. Gone were the usual calls for a "grand union of anti-conservatives" in the South to oppose the Grand National Party and the other usual criticisms of the GNP. Overall, the editorial emphasizes uniting behind the North Korean government and strengthening the North's economy, and it also placed a lot of weight on advancing inter-Korean relations by, among other things, thoroughly implementing October's summit declaration. This shows you that Pyongyang has considerable expectations for the new South Korean government, that of President-elect Lee Myung-bak.