Sunshine Policy

The Reconciliation and Cooperation Policy Towards the North (Korean: 대북화해협력정책; Hanja: 對北和解協力政策), colloquially referred to as the Sunshine Policy (햇볕정책; 햇볕政策), is a theoretical basis adopted by the South Korean presidential administrations of Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in regarding South Korea's foreign policy towards North Korea. The policy was devised by president Kim Dae-jung in 1998. It resulted in greater political contact between the two states, leading to two inter-Korean summit meetings in Pyongyang (June 2000 and October 2007), as well as several high-profile business ventures, and brief meetings of family members separated by the Korean War. In 2000, Kim was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his implementation of the Sunshine Policy. Moon Jae-in's government began reconciling with North Korea following his election in 2017, thus beginning a revival of the Sunshine Policy. Moon's effort to improve the inter-Korean relationship resulted in three inter-Korean summits in a year, including two summits held in Panmunjom (April and May 2018) that marked the first inter-Korean summits to be held outside of Pyongyang, and one in Pyongyang (September 2018). Moon's version of the Sunshine Policy became known as the "Moonshine Policy".