Kim Jong-un calls for talks with South Korea
Surprise shift in attitude is attempt to drive wedge between Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump, say experts
KIM JONG-UN, the North Korean leader, made a dramatic shift in his approach to Seoul yesterday, as he called for direct talks with South Korea.
In an apparent bid to drive a wedge between South Korea and its key ally, the United States, the isolated dictator said he hoped the two Koreas could meet “immediately”, as the south prepares to host the Winter Olympics in Peyongchang. However, he warned he had no intention of backing down over his nuclear weapons strategy.
“The winter games to be held in South Korea will be a good occasion for the country”, Mr Kim said in a speech televised by state-run media yesterday.
“We sincerely hope that the winter games will be a success”, he added. “We are willing to take various steps, including the dispatch of the delegation… to this end, the two Koreas can immediately meet.”
That offer was tempered by Mr Kim’s insistence that he would not scale back production of nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles.
“We should always keep readiness to take immediate nuclear counterattacks against the enemy’s scheme for a nuclear war… the US should be aware that the north’s nuclear force is reality, not a threat,” he said.
And he struck an ominous note by claiming that a “nuclear button” was always resting on his desk.
Donald Trump, the US president, was asked to respond to the message as he arrived in a tuxedo at his New Year’s Eve party at his Mar-a-lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. “We’ll see, we’ll see,” he said.
It came as a former top US official said he believed that a nuclear war with North Korea was “closer than ever” and he could not see any diplomatic solution.
Admiral Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama, said: “We’re actually closer, in my view, to a nuclear war with North Korea than we have ever been. I don’t see the opportunities to solve this diplomatically.”
Analysts told The Daily Telegraph they suspected an ulterior motive to the dictator’s request for talks with the south, which was unexpected, as the regime has previously ignored appeals from Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president.
Mr Moon’s approach has been markedly different to Mr Trump’s hard line. The South Korean leader believes the stand-off can be resolved through talks, whereas the US president has threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea with “fire and fury”.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s National Security Strategy said it suspected the north was only using its attendance at the Winter Olympics for political leverage. “In exchange for that [attendance], it cannot be ruled out that it would demand Seoul lift economic sanctions against it and resume economic cooperative projects and humanitarian aid,” it said in a report.
The South Korean people are desperate for a peaceful solution to the crisis, which has overshadowed them since the Korean War broke out in 1950, and are likely to be broadly supportive of talks. But Washington may be irritated if any concessions on security are made as a condition for the talks as it risks driving a wedge between Mr Trump and Mr Moon.
Rah Jong-yil, a former diplomat and head of South Korean intelligence, said he did not believe “at all” that Mr Kim was offering an olive branch, adding that the leader would not want a peaceful solution to the nuclear crisis as it could undermine his regime.
“North Korea cannot survive peace”, he said. “The regime in Pyongyang can only continue to survive on stresses and confrontation with its neighbours.
“Peace would bring Mr Kim down.”