Seoul's Stiff Reed.(Brief Article)

South Korea's opposition leader, Lee Hoi Chang, tells the story of a South Korean pastor who set up a free clinic in the North. "Every time he wanted to do anything, bring in pharmaceuticals or whatnot, the [North Korean] authorities would interfere." When the man protested, his hosts ordered him to do things their way or leave. But to their surprise, "this pastor packed up and prepared to leave the country. A short time later North Korea got back to him and said: 'Please come back. We need you'."

The parable encapsulates Lee's philosophy for taming "rogue" North Korea: "No more free lunch." As leader of South Korea's opposition Grand National Party, he's spent the past four years raining skepticism on President Kim Dae Jung's "Sunshine Policy." The more promises "Great Leader" Kim Jong Il has broken, the higher Lee's popularity has risen. If current polls hold he'll easily become South Korea's next president after voters cast their ballots in December.

That doesn't mean relations with the North will automatically plunge into a deep freeze. During his NEWSWEEK interview, Lee insisted that his party "also favors the engagement policy, that is to say dialogue, cooperation and [seeking] North Korea as a partner for peaceful coexistence." Asked if he considered the regime in Pyongyang evil, he demurred, noting "that's a matter of expression." Nevertheless he took jabs at Seoul's current policy, vowing to end "wishful ...