Chocolate pud fails to feed detente

PYEONGCHANG: At an Olympic dinner reception designed to reduce tension between two nations still technically at war, the pudding said it all.

Dark chocolate tempered in the shape of barbed wire lay over a map of the Korean peninsula rendered in thin blue chocolate, a representation of the heavily militarised border that separates Games host South Korea and its old enemy in the North.

The guests, including leaders of North and South, were invited to pour melted white chocolate on top and the barbed wire would dissolve.

The dessert, called “A Plate of Hope”, was what South Korean President Moon Jae-in planned to serve his dozen VIP guests, which were to include US Vice President Mike Pence, at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics pre- opening party yesterday.

But Pence had other ideas. He left the reception after just a few minutes, skipping the hopeful dessert and a potentially awkward encounter with North Korea’s nominal head of state, Kim Yong Nam.

“South Korea has some difficult homework to solve regarding some countries,” Moon said. Pence arrived at the reception late and had planned to leave directly after a photo session but Moon asked him to “come and say hello to friends”, Moon’s presidential spokesman said.

Pence came to the table and shook hands with all of the VIPs at the head table except Kim Yong Nam, and left the reception five minutes later.

And the dessert? Pictures posted on social media by a South Korean lawmaker appeared to show that on at least one occasion, the chocolate barbed wire failed to dissolve. – Reuters