South Korea's interim leader faces thorny issues

In a sign of the ongoing tensions, North Korea's state media on Sunday released photos of its smiling leader, Kim Jong Un, watching a practice attack on a replica of Park's presidential Blue House.

[...] in the wake of the massive anti-government protests touched off by a political scandal involving Park's longtime confidante, the government took a step back, saying it wants to hear various opinions by Dec. 23 before making a final decision.

The elder Park is a deeply divisive figure, with critics calling him a horrible human rights abuser who imprisoned and tortured dissidents, while supporters call him a national hero who guided the country out of poverty.

The intelligence-sharing pact went into effect last month, and liberal critics accuse the Park government of trying to use the agreement to divert attention from the political scandal.

Efforts to boost ties with Japan often trigger a fierce public backlash in South Korea, where many people still harbor strong resentment of Tokyo's brutal colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 and 1945.

Hwang's government will also have to engage with the Trump presidential transition, work to prevent the political turmoil from taking a toll on the country's economy and deal with an opposition hoping to use the current situation as a chance to push for diverse social reforms.