The PyeongChang Olympics will open in 10 days, but South Korea and the US remain far apart on North Korea’s participation in the games.
Since Pyongyang announced its interest in taking part in the games earlier this month, inter-Korean talks have panned out at an unusually rapid pace.
Since the two sides met for the first time in about two years on Jan. 9, the two Koreas have agreed on a number of items, including hosting joint cultural events and fielding a unified women’s ice hockey team.
Vehicles carrying North Korean delegation that inspected various Olympic-related locations in South Korea return to the North on Saturday. Yonhap
While the allies share the goal of denuclearization of North Korea, recent developments have shown the two focus on very different areas and voice starkly different assessments.
President Moon Jae-in and his top aides have repeatedly touted the North’s participation as an opportunity for peace.
At a recent meeting with his top aides, Moon described North Korea’s participation in the games as a “valuable opportunity to peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear issue,” urging his aides to maintain inter-Korean dialogue after the sporting event.
At the meeting, Moon once again raised the possibility of the related developments laying the foundation for US-North Korea talks.
While Seoul talks of hope, the US has been showing few -- if any -- signs of change in its approach to North Korea.
While US leaders have publicly welcomed inter-Korean talks, South Korea’s closest ally does not appear to view North Korea’s participation in the games as a step toward easing tension on the peninsula.
At Friday’s South Korea-US defense ministers’ talks held in Hawaii, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis welcomed inter-Korean talks, but emphasized the need to maintain pressure.
“Diplomacy should impose reason on Kim’s reckless rhetoric and dangerous provocations,” Mattis said. “The international pressure campaign must continue.”
South Korea’s Minister of Defense Song Young-moo largely echoed Mattis, and later told South Korean media outlets that there was not “even an inch” of difference in the allies’ stance.
Song also said that inter-Korean talks are “about ultimately drawing the North into a dialogue with the United States,” an issue on which the US’ position has remained unchanged.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently told the media that the US would only engage North Korea in “credible negotiations on denuclearization,” but that Pyongyang has yet to prove itself a “credible partner” for such steps.
Similar messages have also come from the highest levels of US administration.
On Wednesday, a White House official told members of the US media that Vice President Mike Pence’s attendance of the Feb. 9 Olympic opening ceremony is partly aimed at offsetting Pyongyang’s “charade.”
Pence will lead the US delegation, which reportedly will include at least one member of US President Donald Trump’s family, at the opening ceremony.
“He has grave concerns that Kim will hijack the messaging around the Olympics,” an unnamed White House official was quoted as saying by the US media on Wednesday during Pence’s return journey from the Middle East.
“The North Koreans have been master manipulators in the past. It’s a murderous state.”
The official was also quoted as saying that Pence’s presence will “ensure that from a messaging standpoint that it isn’t turned into two weeks of propaganda.”
By Choi He-suk (
cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
