What to expect from Korea talks
North Korea’s recent abrupt push to improve ties with South Korea wasn’t totally unexpected, as the country has a history of launching provocations and then pursuing dialogue with rivals Seoul and Washington in an attempt to win concessions.
Still, Tuesday’s planned talks between the Koreas, the first in about two years, have raised hopes of at least a temporary easing of tensions over North Korea’s recent nuclear and missile tests, which have ignited fears of a possible war.
A look at how the Korean talks were arranged and what to expect from them:
Kim Jong Un’s olive branch In a New Year’s Day speech, North Korea’s young leader, Kim Jong Un, said he was willing to send a delegation to next month’s Winter Olympics in South Korea, while also announcing he has a “nucle- ar button” on his desk that could launch an atomic bomb at any location in the mainland United States.
Liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who seeks rapprochement with North Korea, quickly responded to Kim’s outreach by offering talks at the border village of Panmunjom to discuss Olympic cooperation and overall ties. Kim accepted Moon’s proposal.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday called the talks “a big start,” saying he hopes for some progress from the negotiations. He earlier responded to Kim’s New Year’s Day address by warning that he has a much bigger and more powerful “nuclear button.”
Olympic cooperation South Korean officials say they will focus in the talks on Olympic cooperation before moving onto more difficult political and military issues.
Moon’s government wants North Korea to participate in the Feb. 9-25 games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in hopes of reducing animosities between the rivals, which are separated by the world’s most heavily fortified border.
South Korea may suggest that North and South Korean athletes parade together during the opening and closing ceremonies and field a joint women’s ice hockey team.
But North Korea, which is weak in winter sports, currently has no athletes qualified to participate in the Pyeonghang Games. It needs to receive an additional quota to compete, and its International Olympic Committee representative, Chang Ung, headed to Switzerland over the weekend for talks with IOC officials, according to Japanese media.
Obstacles Moon’s government wants to resume temporary reunions of families separated by war and work out measures to reduce threats in frontline areas.
But North Korea could demand some rewards in exchange for those steps, such as the revival of stalled cooperation projects that are lucrative for the North or the suspensions of annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises that it calls a rehearsal for an invasion.
The drills’ suspension is something that South Korea cannot accept in consideration of its relations with the U.S., its main ally, which is seeking increased pressure and sanctions on the North.
Analysts say tensions could flare again after the Olympics, with U.S. and South Korean troops carrying out their delayed drills.