North Korea agrees to take part in Winter Olympics
SEOUL, South Korea — The rival Koreas moved toward easing their bitter animosity Tuesday during rare talks, with North Korea agreeing to take part in next month’s Winter Olympics in South Korea. The countries also agreed to hold more discussions on reducing tension along their border and to reopen a military hotline.
The first meeting of its kind between the nations in about two years was arranged after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made an abrupt push for
improved ties with South Korea following a year of escalating tensions with the outside world over his expanding nuclear and missile programs.
Critics say Mr. Kim may be trying to divide Seoul and Washington in a bid to weaken international pressure and sanctions on the North.
In comments that appeared to back up those critical views, chief North Korean delegate Ri Son Gwon said his country’s nuclear weapons are aimed at the United States, not South Korea. He made the comments while complaining about what he called inaccurate South Korean media reports that he said Tuesday’s talks dealt with North Korea’s nuclear disarmament.
“All our state-of-the-art strategic weapons like atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs and intercontinental ballistic rockets are completely targeting the United States. They are not targeting our compatriots” in the South, Mr. Ri said, according to media footage from the border village of Panmunjom, where the talks were held.
Despite Mr. Ri’s comments, the agreements were still seen to be a positive move. Chief South Korean delegate Cho Myoung-gyon described the accords as a “first step toward the development of South-North relations” when he briefed reporters about the meeting.
Mr. Ri read what he called a joint statement after the talks, under which the two Koreas agreed to “actively cooperate” in the Olympics to “enhance the prestige of the Korean people.”
He said North Korea will send a delegation of officials, athletes, cheerleaders and journalists to the Feb. 9-25 games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
South Korea will provide necessary services to the North Korean delegation, Mr. Ri said, adding that the two countries will hold follow-up working-level talks on Olympic cooperation.
“I see North Korea’s participation in the Pyeongchang Games will provide us with a chance to reduce tension on the Korean Peninsula,” said Mr. Cho, whose official title is unification minister.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert welcomed the interKorean meeting that 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 participation in the games does not violate U.N. sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons.
North Korea’s participation in the Winter Olympics won’t affect U.S. participation in the Games, 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, the friendly faces of the North — earlier became the only North Korean athletes to qualify for the games 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 in the Games.