North Korea to send team to Winter Olympics

Talks between South and North Korea easing tensions in the region

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s president said Wednesday he’s open to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un if certain conditions are met, as he vowed to push for more talks to resolve the nuclear standoff.

President Moon Jae-in spoke of a potential summit a day after the two Koreas held their first highlevel meeting in about two years and agreed to cooperate in next month’s Winter Olympics in South Korea. They agreed North Korea will send a delegation of officials, athletes and others to the Feb. 9-25 Games, and they plan talks later on reducing tensions along their border.

“I keep myself open to any meeting, including the summit (with North Korea), if it’s helpful for an improvement of South-North relations or a settlement of the North Korean nuclear issue,” Moon told reporters in a televised news conference. “But … some conditions must be established. I think a certain level of success must be guaranteed.”

Moon described the North’s Olympic participation as “very desirable,” saying he will push for more talks and cooperation with the North.

Tuesday’s accord was reached after Kim Jong Un made an abrupt push for improved ties with South Korea after a year of escalating tensions with the outside world over his expanding nuclear and missile programs. Critics say Kim may be trying to divide Seoul and Washington in a bid to weaken international pressure and sanctions on the North.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert welcomed the inter-Korean meeting, which she said was “aimed at ensuring a safe, secure and successful” Olympics. The U.S. said it was consulting with South Korean officials to ensure that North Korea’s inclusion in the Games does not violate U.N. sanctions.

North Korea’s participation in the Winter Olympics won’t affect the U.S., White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, adding that the decision presents North Korea with an opportunity to see the value of ending its isolation from the rest of the world.

North Korea is not a winter sports power and two of its figure skaters, Ryom Tae Ok and Kim Ju Sik, earlier became the only North Korean athletes to qualify before the North missed a confirmation deadline. The International Olympic Committee said Monday it has “kept the door open” for North Korea to take part.