New Year ray of hope shines for Korean Peninsula peace

For ROK President Moon Jae-in, the New Year’s Day message from his counterpart in the north will probably have come as something of a New Year’s gift. Although its past practices may contradict its claim to be a responsible nation, at least for now the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea seems to be acting as one by extending a “welcome” olive branch to the Republic of Korea .

While it might be, as speculated, simply an attempt to sow discord between the United States and the ROK, or simply a move to buy time for his nuclear/missile programs, it may perhaps be better to consider the DPRK’s offer to send a team to the coming Winter Olympics as a good-will answer to Moon’s recent proposal to suspend joint military drills and view it as Seoul seems to be doing as the opening of a window of opportunity.

For despite the usual threat meant to deter the US from acting rashly, in this instance his statement that he has a nuclear button on his desk, Kim Jong-un did express an interest in ending the “unstable state which is neither war nor peace”, as well as an eagerness to “sit down for talks”. Better yet, the DPRK leader pledged to work with the ROK to “lower military tensions on the Korean Peninsula” with an eye on a “peaceful resolution”.

While the reunification Kim Jong-un spoke of is more likely than not on his terms, and thus can be regarded as little more than a bid to remind Seoul of the current state of affairs, his speech may be a credible sign that Pyongyang does want, perhaps needs, to find a way to escape the spiraling tensions it has helped to foster.

Although there is a huge question mark surrounding the olive branch that has been offered — after all, the world has seen athletes from both sides of the 38th Parallel stand shoulder-to-shoulder under the Olympic banner, before and afterwards seen everything go back to as it was before; and Pyongyang’s past rhetoric about its desire for peace has repeatedly been offset by fresh provocations — that is no reason to give Kim’s overture the cold shoulder.

Considering the clear and all too present danger being brewed by what have been recently rapidly escalating tensions, no sign hinting at a potential breakthrough should be ignored. Not least since this has been the first seemingly serious one from Kim since he became leader.