Hoping for a diplomatic breakthrough at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, neither the U.S. nor North Korea spoke one word during the two-week love-fest. North Korea performed a charm offensive with its 22-member crew marching in the Opening Ceremony under one Korean flag. Sending 100 cloned-looking cheerleaders, North Korea’s propaganda war continues, hinting recently that the dictator Kim Jong-un was open to talks—but about what? President Donald Trump has made clear that any talks with the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea [DPRK] would be about disarming its nuke and ballistic missile program. Yet the U.S. and foreign press want to cast the lack of communication between the U.S. and DPRK as a missed opportunity. When Khoe Kang II, a senior DPRK foreign minister arrived in Pyeongchang, the press leaped to conclusions about a possible meeting.
Whatever meeting would have taken place, discussing nuclear disarmament would have been off the table. As far as North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is concerned, the U.S. should be the one disarming, not the DPRK. When South Korea met before the Games Jan. 8 with a DPRK delegation, the topic of nuclear disarmament was off the table. Only the DPRK’s participation in the Pyeongchang Games was discussed. U.S. officials have no interest in talking about the price of tea in China with North Korea. South Korean President Moon Jae-in hoped the grand gesture of inviting the DPRK to participate in the Pyeongchang Games would create a diplomatic opening. Word that North Korea blocked TV satellite transmissions of the Winter Games spoke volumes about Kim’s true intent. Can’t possibly let the North Korean people see what life’s like across the border.
Trump made a big deal Jan. 30 in his State-of-the-Union speech about U.S. college student Otto Warmbier who North Korea tortured and returned to the States June 15 in a coma, dying June 19. Vice President Mike Pence, part of the U.S. opening delegation at Pyeongchang, brought Otto’s father, Fred, to the opening ceremonies. Pence openly criticized North Korea’s human rights abuses, signaling to the DPRK Pyeongchang delegation led by Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong. DPRK’s envoy to the Games, Gen. Kim Yong-choi, told Moon that his country was open to talks with U.S., something South Korea wants. No one in South Korea wants a military confrontation with the U.S. over nukes and ballistic missiles. Moon made clear he could live with North Korea’s nukes and ballistic missiles, as long as Kim didn’t threaten the South with a nuclear attack.
Now that Winter Games’ hoopla is over, the business of de-nuclearizing the Korean Peninsula goes on with the U.S. ratcheting up pressure on Pyongyang. “There is a need for the U.S. to lower the threshold for talks with North Korea and North Korea would show it is willing to de-nuclearized. It’s important the Unites States and North Korea sit down together quickly,” Moon told Reuters. Moon’s been put on notice by Turmp that the U.S. can’t appease the DPRK’s feverish pursuit of a nuclear-armed Intercontinental Ballistic Missile [ICBM]. Since detonating a hydrogen bomb Sept. 3, 2017 and lauching a medium-range ballistic missile over Japan Sept. 15, the DPRK has been put on notice that one more nuclear or ballistic missile test would result in a U.S. retaliatory strike. Despite numerous U.N. resolutions against the DPRK’s nuke and ballistic missile program, Kim hasn’t give up his nukes.
All the pomp-and-circumstance doesn’t change the fact that North Korea is feverishly working on an operation nuclear-armed ICBM that could hit any where in the U.S. or around the planet. As far as Trump’s concerned, there’s nothing to talk about other that nuclear disarmament, something that Kim’s been unwilling to do. Trump’s takes the “we’ll see” approach, not giving the press much to write about as the next phase of sanctions begins to kick in. Trump wanted China and Russia to agree to a total petroleum embargo on the DPRK, forcing Kim to the bargaining table. All the talk of secret meeting between the U.S. and North Korea ended, primarily because the U.S. is intently focused on nuclear disarmament. That’s the last thing the Kim regime wants to do since, the only bargaining chip with Trump involves having a credible nuclear deterrent capacity.
.Trump warned North Korea about Phase II Feb. 23, without saying exactly what it would involve. If Kim’s regime responds with another nuclear test or ballistic missile launch it could trigger a U.S. military strike. Pentagon officials, led by Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis, have talked about a “bloody nose” strike but that’s been likely ruled out. If the U.S. hits North Korea, the Pentagon must neutralize the DPRK’s nukes and ballistic missile capability, not to mention its conventional weapons. With Seoul only 35 miles from the Demilitarized Zone [DMZ], there’s too much risk without an all-out U.S. strike. Moon wants peace but knows Trump can’t fool around any longer with Kim getting a nuclear-armed ICBM. With the clock ticking on Kim’s ICBM, Trump doesn’t have time on his side to see what happens. Kim doesn’t have much more time to disarm.
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