The purpose of this paper is to examine the Kim Dae－Jung government's policy towards North Korea in the context of domestic politics in South Korea． Kim's'Sunshine Policy'was aimed at promoting reconciliation and cooperation with North Korea and had characteristics that distinguished it from previous policies． It forswore measures to undermine or threaten North Korea， while promoting peaceful co－existence not to hasten reunification． In addition to working toward d6tente on the Korean Penillsula， Kim's engagement policy aimed to achieve systematic domestic reform． It proposed a program of structural reforms under the slogan of'the parallel development of democracy and the market ecollomy'as a strategy to recover from the financial crisis that had beset the country． In order to implement this program， Kim's government emphasized the need for'dissolution of the Cold War structure'． This was the rationale for the engagement policy． Moreover， the government stressed the importance of peace on the Korean Peninsula not only for national security， but a正so for the inflow of fore重gn capital needed for eCOnOm1C「eCOVe「y・ Although the policy toward North Korea was implemented as a part of the comprehensive reform program， it has become a main issue independently in conflicts over domestic politics． Since South Korean politics had long been dominated by vested interests framed around conservative Cold War ideology and institutions， the policy shift toward the'dissolution of the Cold War structure'stimulated ideological conflict in South Korea， transforming the previous regionalist structure of' 垂盾撃奄狽奄モ≠戟@conflict into one based on political ideology．