Moon’s rise to power in S Korea causes worries, hopes abroad

South Korea's new President Moon Jae-in waves from a car after his inauguration ceremony outside of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 10, 2017. Moon said Wednesday he was open to visiting rival North Korea under the right conditions to talk about Pyongyang's aggressive pursuit of nuclear-tipped missiles. (Hong Hae-in/Yonhap via AP) South Korea's new President Moon Jae-in waves from a car after his inauguration ceremony outside of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 10, 2017. Moon said Wednesday he was open to visiting rival North Korea under the right conditions to talk about Pyongyang's aggressive pursuit of nuclear-tipped missiles. (Hong Hae-in/Yonhap via AP)

By Associated Press May 10, 2017 5 min read

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – Which of South Korea’s neighbors and allies stand to benefit most from liberal Moon Jae-in’s ascension to the presidency this week?

It might be North Korea, which sees Moon as an advocate of a softer approach to ridding the North of nuclear weapons. This in turn could set off alarms in a more conservative Washington. Beijing, meanwhile, likely hopes to win big concessions from Moon, and Tokyo worries he’ll upset a delicate arrangement meant to settle the two countries’ difficult past.

Here’s a look at how South Korea’s neighbors see Moon, Seoul’s first liberal leader in a decade, as he seeks to put an ambitious, possibly jarring foreign policy into play.

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NORTH KOREA