Seoul AP

It is not too early to predict one sure winner of South Korea's presidential election next week: North Korea. President Lee Myung Bak's hardline approach to Pyongyang is going away, no matter who replaces him, but just how soft will Seoul go?

Not even Pyongyang's successful launch of a long-range rocket Wednesday has changed the determination of both the liberal and conservative candidates in South Korea to pursue policies of engagement, aid and reconciliation with the North.