South Korea’s president invited to North
Kim’s sister delivers offer for talks that could ease tensions
SEOUL, South Korea – Kim Jong Un has invited South Korean President Moon Jae-in to North Korea for talks in the first major development to stem from the North’s participation in the Olympics, Moon’s office announced Saturday.
The invitation was delivered by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of the North Korean leader, when her Olympic delegation ate lunch with Moon at the presidential palace.
The invitation is a victory for Moon, who urged North Korea to participate in the Olympics in the hopes it could lead to broader talks and ease tensions on the Korean peninsula.
It was the first time a member of North Korea’s ruling family ever visited the presidential palace, called the Blue House.
It is not clear whether the talks will lead to a significant reduction in tensions. North Korea tested a record number of missiles last year and has shown no interest in abandoning its nuclear program. The country has a history of taking provocative acts and agreeing to talks that lead nowhere.
Moon said he planned to set conditions to allow the talks to happen. He also urged North Korea to engage in talks with the United States.
Tensions between the U.S and North Korea intensified during the past year, raising worries of war on the peninsula.
President Donald Trump has traded insults with North Korea’s leader and has led efforts to slap sanctions on the country for its refusal to halt its nuclear weapons program.
The presence of Kim Yo Jong as part of the delegation to the Olympics led to speculation that she might have been sent because, as a close relative of the North Korean leader, she would be in a position to deliver a personal message to Moon.
“She’s a pretty important person in the regime,” said Michael Madden, an analyst at the U.S.-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. “No one else in leadership can bring messages directly to Kim Jong Un.”
Madden added: “It helps that she also appears dynamic and photogenic.”
Kim Yo Jong, 30, and the rest of the North Korean delegation sat next to Vice President Mike Pence at the Olympic’s opening ceremony Friday, but they did not speak or acknowledge each other.