DPRK invitation to Moon offers rare opportunity

SEOUL — A highlight of the 23rd Winter Olympics happened outside the sports venue on Saturday, when the sister of the top leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea extended an invitation from her brother to the Republic of Korea president to visit Pyongyang.

The offer by Kim Yo-song to Moon Jae-in is the latest indication of growing detente between the countries, following athletes of the two sides marching under one flag at the opening ceremony and competing together in a women’s ice hockey team.

But uncertainties remain as to whether the warming ties could continue beyond the Olympic Games, or whether another historic inter-Korean summit could take place.

The Pyeongchang Winter Olympics is the first international sports event hosted by the Moon administration, which has promised to make the occasion a peace festival for the two countries.

Moon, who endeavors to play the role as a “mediator” between the DPRK and the United States, is making great effort to sustain the momentum for inter-Korea talks and lay the foundation for direct dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.

Meanwhile, Kim Jong-un’s dispatch of heavyweights to the games evinces the DPRK’s strong desire to improve ties with its neighbor and ease tensions on the peninsula.

In January, when Pyongyang and Seoul were having their first high-level talks in almost two years, US President Donald Trump said he was “behind President Moon 100 percent”.

Clearly, time will tell whether the pledge is matched with concrete actions or has been mere lip service.

Right before departing for Pyeongchang, US Vice-President Mike Pence reaffirmed “maximum pressure” on Pyongyang, saying that Washington was mulling the

The occasion today is watched closely by the world ... I feel that weight on my shoulders.”

Moon Jae-in, ROK President “toughest and sanctions.

During his stay in Pyeongchang, Pence avoided any interaction with DPRK officials.

If the US is earnest about its hope for peace on the peninsula, it should cancel joint military drills with the ROK after the Pyeongchang games so as to preserve the growing rapprochement on the peninsula.

On the other side, it would be wise for Pyongyang not to conduct more nuclear and missile activities to make negotiations possible.

If not, the hard-won atmosphere for talks will be ruined and the peninsula will go back to the tit-for-tat cycle.

As Moon himself has pointed out, the inter-Korean dialogue achieved this time was like a miracle. But if the dialogue was cut off following the end of the games, it would be much harder, if not totally impossible, for the DPRK and the ROK to find another opportunity to seek dialogue.

A better option is to strengthen communications and maintain the momentumso as not to squander the rare chance at hand.

The opportunity may have been on Moon’s mind when he raised a toast at a lunch on Saturday with Kim.

“The occasion today is watched closely by the world, and there’s a lot of hope placed on the South and North,” he said. “I feel that weight on my shoulders.” most aggressive”