内容摘要："The bottom line is that we've got to be ready in case things don't happen the way we want," Hassett said of the expected China talks. "Because if we have cannons without cannonballs, then we can't fight a war."

"The bottom line is that we've got to be ready in case things don't happen the way we want," Hassett said of the expected China talks. "Because if we have cannons without cannonballs, then we can't fight a war."

This election is an opportunity to steer South Korea back onto safer, more stable ground, and heal these fractures.Given this, the ruling party was always going to struggle, marred by President Yoon's self-defeating coup. But rather than break away from the disgraced former president, the conservative People Power Party (PPP) has chosen a candidate who repeatedly defended Yoon and his actions.

Kim Moon-soo, Yoon's former labour minister, was the only cabinet member who refused to stand and apologise during a parliamentary hearing into martial law. He said sorry only well into his campaign, after he had won Yoon's public endorsement.This has turned the election into more of a referendum on martial law than anything else. Given most of the public overwhelmingly rejected the move, it has also virtually gilded the path for the opposition leader Lee, who famously livestreamed himself scaling the walls of the parliament complex, to get inside and vote down the president's order.Now the Democratic Party politician portrays himself as the only candidate who can ensure this never happens again. He has said he will change the constitution to make it more difficult for future presidents to declare martial law.

"We must prevent the return of the rebellion forces," Lee urged voters at his recent rally from behind fortified glass.Such promises have pulled in people from across the political spectrum. "I didn't like Lee before, but since martial law I now trust and depend on him," said 59-year-old Park Suh-jung, who admitted this was the first time she had attended a political event.

One man in his 50s said he was a member of another smaller political party, but had decided to back Lee this time: "He is the only person who can end Yoon's martial law insurrection. We need to stop those who destroyed our democracy."

Most recent polls put Lee about 10 points ahead of his rival Kim, but he was not always so popular. This is his second time running for president, having lost out to Yoon three years ago. He is a divisive character, who has been embroiled in a series of court cases and political scandals. There are many who do not trust him, who loathe him even.after grumbling from users.

Media analyst Hanna Kahlert at Midia Research told BBC News the move followed the pattern of "social and AI trying to absorb each other".She said it was not, however, necessarily what customers actually wanted.

"Users primarily still use social platforms to talk to their friends, and see their friends' updates," she added."Adding AI into direct messaging inherently supplants that - it reduces trust between users and distracts from the current USP."