Experts: Warmer ties may not last long after Games
ROK president will meet DPRK delegation on Saturday
Though the 23rd Pyeongchang Winter Olympics have triggered a rapid rapprochement on the Korean Peninsula, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on Thursday ruled out any official meeting with the United States during the Games, hinting that warmer relations may not last long beyond the Games, experts said.
The DPRK’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Thursday quoted an official of the Foreign Ministry as saying that the DPRK never begs for dialogue with the US and it does not have any intention to hold meetings with US officials at the event.
The official brushed off remarks made by US Vice-President Mike Pence about the possibility of meetings between the two sides, calling them “ridiculous”, Xinhua reported.
Meanwhile, ROK President Moon Jae-in planned to meet the visiting high-ranking delegation from the DPRK on Saturday, the presidential Blue House said on Thursday.
His spokesman Kim Euikyeom said that Moon will meet and have lunch on Saturday with the ranking DPRK delegation,
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led by Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly.
Among the contingent will be Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un who serves as the first vice-director of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.
On the same day, the DPRK held a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of its military founding, one day ahead of the opening of the Olympics.
The Games, held in the ROK’s eastern county of Pyeongchang from Friday until Feb 25, will be an arena not only for the athletes.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Pence, Kim Yong-nam, Kim Yo-jong and other leaders from 16 countries will attend the opening ceremony.
Although it is expected that the Games will be a chance to ease previous tensions in the Peninsula, however, experts believed that the problems will still exist after the Games if the DPRK and US stick to their stances and refuse to loosen attitudes.
On Wednesday, Pence said Washington will impose its harshest-ever sanctions on Pyongyang, adding that the US “will not allow North Korean propaganda to hijack the message and imagery of the Olympic Games”.
“Although the DPRK and the ROK have held high-level talks, the possibility of conducting political activities between the DPRK and US beyond the scope of sports during the Olympic Games remains low,” said Jin Jingyi, a professor at Peking University, adding that the key issue to solve the deadlock is to have peaceful talks between the two.
Wang Junsheng, associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said if the US and the DPRK are reluctant to talk during the Games, the US and its allies will surely restart the joint military exercise afterward, aiming to stressed its “maximum pressure” on the DPRK and further escalate the tension.
He said the situation on the peninsula may return to “a vicious circle”, as the US upgrades its sanctions to pressure the DPRK to denuclearize while its ally Japan continuously meddles in the situation and hopes to make profit from tensions in the region to achieve Abe’s domestic political goals.
As Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympic Committee, said at the opening of the IOC’s 132nd Session on Tuesday, “the Olympic spirit has brought two sides together that for too long were divided by mistrust and animosity”.
He added that “the political tensions will not disappear overnight, sport cannot create peace, but the Olympic Games can open the way with powerful symbols”.
Xinhua contributed to this story.