SEOUL – As US election fever dies down, it's time for the intrepid gang of Pyongyangologists to start turning their attention to an equally important political event: this December’s South Korean presidential elections. With an Obama victory safely on the table, all eyes will be on South Korea's presidential candidates over next few months, as the diplomatic tinderbox on the Korean peninsula continues to develop.

Park Geun-hye, daughter of former military dictator Park Chung-hee and presidential candidate for the conservative Saenuri Party, today pledged to resume humanitarian aid to North Korea after incumbent president Lee Myung-bak stopped sending all aid to Pyongyang after taking office in 2008. Speaking at a press conference in Seoul, Park also vowed to “promote mutually beneficial economic, social, and cultural exchanges” with the North in order to build a “sustainable peace” on the Korean Peninsula.