For once, an Olympic Games have actually given rise to a legacy that actually might be worth something. Namely the forthcoming Kim Trump summit, brokered by Moon and emanating from the goodwill between North and South Korea generated by the recent Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Let us trust that some good will come of the meeting, pencilled in for May!
With yesterday's closing ceremony, the Peace Games are officially over.
To his credit, President Moon is doing his best to act as a bridge between the USA and North Korea in the hope that they will both lower their "negotiation thresholds".
At the Munich Security Conference Risch said that Trump is prepared to start a “very, very brief” war with North Korea that would be “one of the worst catastrophic events in the history of our civilization. The president can do this quickly, & as I said, it is at his fingertips" https://t.co/EURQdWmA3n
The closing ceremony will take place on the 25th. In view of the fact that Pence sabotaged the meeting that he had agreed to with the North Koreans when he attended the opening ceremony, don't expect Ivanka to meet with any North Koreans.
Korea Times subtly pairs story about increased Tinder usage at the Pyeongchang Olympics with photo of condoms, along with this intriguing sentence: "N. Korean athletes are reportedly facing a sex ban imposed by leader Kim Jong-un."https://t.co/Xx2PyeqmHY
Official portrait of Kim Jong-un greeting the North Korean Olympic delegation, arm-in-arm with Kim Yong-nam and Kim Yo-jong. pic.twitter.com/EA2gGtjV3P
Little sister Kim and the Olympic delegation have returned home to a warm welcome from Big Brother Kim, confident in the knowledge that this is (thusfar) a job well done.
Not only did they have the mainstream media giving them front page coverage (there's no such thing as bad publicity), they received an added bonus of Pence acting as a badly behaved and ill mannered guest towards his ROK hosts. as such, it is hardly surprising that Kim issued a personal thank you to ROK for hosting the delegation (thus drawing further attention to Pence's truculent behaviour and ill mannered demeanour).
Needless to say this "thaw" will not last, at some stage Kim will test something that will start the war clock ticking again. However, in the very short term, Kim can be confident that he has outmanoeuvred and outplayed the USA.
Watch North Korea's military parade from today: While they rolled out old artillery, it was the first time they displayed the Hwasong-14 and 15 in a parade. pic.twitter.com/54YsW8bvlR
Hwasong 14 on a truck seems to be the most exciting thing shown today. Certainly lower key than usual and fewer missiles. I do love this shot of party elders having tea while ICBMs roll by. pic.twitter.com/UxSsd3OLHI
While everyone's still slack-jawed over the sight of four massive Hwasong-15 missile on their TELs, I think its important to point out a far more shocking newcomer is what appears to be a copy of the Russian 9K720 Iskander. pic.twitter.com/aDZBtOsYWH
In parade speech, Kim Jong Un doesn’t mention the Olympics: “If the first military parade held in this square 70 years ago showed the solemnity of the new country...today’s military parade will show off DPRK’s status that’s been improved to be the world’s strong military country”
Tanks rolling out into KIS square on 02.08 parade followed by other hardware -- latest pics: FAR fewer units than in last April's parade pic.twitter.com/9Qht6oW5zv
Not to be outdone by the French Bastille Day Parade and Kim's forthcoming pre Olympics parade in Pyongyang tomorrow, President Trump (having decreed that it is treasonous not to applaud the President) has told the Pentagon to put forward plans for a military parade in Washington at some future date.
As the old song goes.."I love a parade..", well certainly the despots do!
How ironic, given that Pence is claiming that The United States of America will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea EVER!
The United States of America will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea EVER – and we will continue to isolate North Korea until it ABANDONS its nuclear and ballistic missile programs once and for all. #VPinASIApic.twitter.com/djVd46dJlC
At last years inter-Korean ice hockey match, violence broke out as undercover South Korean security officials accosted foreigners waving handkerchief-sized DPRK flags.
Whilst the foreigners will be allowed to wave North Korean flags, South Koreans won't be allowed to wave them. Theoretically, South Korean security services will be less likely to beat people up.
Neither North Korea nor The USA are taking the current lull in provocations, to allow the Olympics to take place, seriously.
The North will hold a massive military parade on the 8th of February (the day before the Winter Olympics are opened)designed to scare the shit out of everyone.
#breaking#exclusive Diplomatic sources tell @CNN North Korea is planning to show off dozens of long-range missiles next week to “scare the hell out of the Americans.” https://t.co/glJqq5YcYI
Meanwhile the USA has just pulled its much touted choice for ambassador to South Korea, Victor Cha. The announcement took many by surprise, as Cha had passed all the security clearances and had been nodded in by the South.
Why was he booted from the role?
It seems that despite being regarded by many as a hawk, when he was asked if he would manage the evacuation of American citizens from South Korea he balked at the idea of the much touted "bloody nose" attack on the North.
I shall leave you all ponder the question who will evacuate the South Koreans from the South and the Japanese from Japan, in the event that things get out of hand.
However, be in no doubt, if the Olympics do take place without incident there is going to be one hell of a punch up afterwards. That is, sadly, very clear!
North Korea has cancelled a joint cultural performance with South Korea
scheduled for Feb. 4 blaming South Korean media for encouraging
“insulting” public sentiment regarding the North.
Reuters reports that the North said it had no choice but to call off the performance, which
was to be held in the North Korean territory of Mount Kumgang, as South
Korean media continued to insult what Pyongyang called “sincere”
measures regarding the Winter Olympics Seoul will host next month.
Whilst it is likely that the main reason for cancellation is the North's infamous "prickliness", another reason may also be the flu outbreak that is raging in the North. It's health service will be unable to cope with a large scale outbreak, and during previous occasions of disease in AP eg SARS the North has sometimes shut its borders.
That being said, whatever the real reason of cancellation, the old adage:
"North Korea never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity"
NK News reports that North
Korean athletes involved in the upcoming Pyeongchang Olympics will not
receive a free Samsung Galaxy Note 8 for their participation.
The smartphone, which is being given to all other participants in the
games, will not be gifted to the athletes to avoid violating
international sanctions against Pyongyang, the Ministry of Unification said.
There are of course other sanctions issues that are yet to be clarified, eg the North Korean ski resort where South Koreans will train seemingly has equipment that was imported in violation of sanctions. Additionally, who will be paying for the North Korean delegation (several hundred people) when they are in the South?
Two Chinese sources with connections to North Korea’s ruling elite told RFA’s Korean Service Wednesday that Kim—now in his seventh year of leading the North—has nearly exhausted the slush fund he inherited from his predecessor and no longer has enough money to govern the country.
It would seem that Kim may well have run out of cash.
It is not surprising that he has run out of cash, as attempting to push for economic growth and increase military expenditure at the same time is simply not possible in an economy as weak and pathetic as North Korea. The Soviet Union was brought to its knees by trying to achieve those two goals.
That being the case that Kim has run out of cash, the sudden enthusiasm for the Olympics is doubtless geared to finding ways and means to raise more cash.
Mike Pence, via spokesman: N. Korea, "master manipulators" and a "murderous state," is trying to "hijack" the Pyeongchang Olympics with the "charade" of "two weeks of propaganda."https://t.co/brMywcO3IQ
North Korea’s women’s ice hockey team has arrived in South Korea. 15 members of North Korea’s national women’s ice hockey team - including 12 players, 1 coach & 2 support personnel - will compete alongside South Korean counterparts in the 2018 Pyeonchang Winter Olympics.
North Korea's female ice hockey team uses Bauer. But current UN and U.S. sanctions make it illegal for it to import sports equipment, though, especially from the U.S. – yep, that's where we are with sanctions and sports. pic.twitter.com/sNr8PmPXr1
North Korea declares February 8 to be the army's founding anniversary and says it will "significantly mark" the occasion, just a day before the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics
KCNA: "We warn once again the south Korean conservative media persons that the north-south relationship may be disrupted though it took the first good step and an unpredictable incident may occur due to misrepresentation made by them."
Hyon Song-wol looking remarkably well for someone who was "executed"! Which goes to show many of the reports about North Korea are bollocks! pic.twitter.com/mCcovzpBd3
Continued assembling of military assets taking place in Guam: 3 B-1 stealth bombers arrived 2 weeks ago but 6 B-52 bombers arrive on Jan 16 & 2 more B-52s arrived on Jan 18 (all deemed to be nuke-capable). Plus USS Carl Vinson expected in early Februaryhttps://t.co/uEUt1gUdrIpic.twitter.com/cbqbj8Ucwn
#SouthKorea's defense authority has assessed that #NorthKorea's intentions behind PyeongChang outreach is to drive a crack into the U.S.-South Korean relationship. https://t.co/QQpQqHgT4N
Yeah. Like me. That is NOT my goddamned flag. I did NOT salute that rag while I was in the ROK Army. It is not the flag that draped over the coffins of those 46 sailors of the ROKS Cheonan that those bastards murdered.
Quite a few "deliverables" have been announced by North and South Korea wrt the forthcoming winter Olympics:
- North and South will march under a
unified Korean flag at next month’s PyeongChang Winter Olympics opening
ceremony
- They will form a single
South-North women’s ice hockey team (subject to howls of protest from ROK residents)
- North Korea will send a 230-member cheering squad to attend the games.
- A Taekwondo
demonstration team will travel to the South
on the 7th.
- The North and South will carry out joint training of the South and North
Korean skiers at Masikryong ski resort built by Kim in 2013 in the North.
- The North will send a 150-member
delegation to PyeongChang Winter Paralympics in March.
It has taken South Korea (ROK) ten years of hard work and planning to bring the Games to fruition, and North Korea only a matter of days to steal the whole show! Kim is currently punching way above his weight (and he isn't exactly skinny) wrt the Olympics and the stand off with the USA; let us trust and assume that hubris does not lead to a fatal error that will cost the lives of millions!
Japan, South Korea and US all agree that talks with North & South Korea are a diversion tactic by North Korea. President Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, secretly traveled to San Francisco over the weekend to discuss North Korea with Japan and South Korea.
The diversion has been effectively kyboshed by Tillerson, who says there will be no "freeze for freeze" scenario whereby the USA suspends its military exercises beyond the Olympics.
North Korea agrees to more high-level inter-Korean talks on the DMZ this week. Judging by tone of NK state media, they may not be as cordial as the first round. KCNA warned Sunday “the trains and buses carrying our representatives to the Winter Olympics are still in Pyongyang.” pic.twitter.com/2MKqP1uRRT
NKNews.org reports that a letter addressed to North Korean
representative Ri Son Gwon on Friday, South Korea’s Ministry of
Unification (MoU) proposed a high level meeting on January 15 to discuss
the DPRK’s participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games,
according to the MoU spokesperson’s office.
“The R.O.K. Government proposed to hold working-level talks through
the Panmunjeom communications channel today (1.12) under the name of
Unification Minister Cho Myoung Gyon, chief delegate of the inter-Korean
high-level talks, addressed to North Korea’s chief delegate,” an email
from the spokesperson’s office read.
“In the letter, the R.O.K. Government proposed to meet at Panmunjeom (Peace House) on January 15, 10 A.M.,” it added.
A delegation of three officials from Seoul would be present, with the
chief delegate being Unification Vice Minister Chun Hae-sung.
“The South also delivered a document presenting its position
regarding the North’s participation in the PyeongChang Olympics and
matters on cultural events,” the email added.
Not everyone believes that that the recent/sudden thaw in relations between North Korea and ROK is as genuine as it may appear.
The talks between #NorthKorea and South Korea represent no chance for a breakthrough. The entire purpose for the North Koreans is a propaganda campaign.
WSJ editorial board: "Talks between N. and S. Korea…have handed Kim Jong Un a propaganda victory…The talks and the 'Olympic truce' allow the young dictator to pose as a man of peace, even as he threatens to annihilate his enemies with nuclear weapons."https://t.co/xvSYVk3knY
It is true to say that certain people, such as Bolton, will always be naysayers wrt attempts to make peace. However, it is worth remembering that the 1936 Berlin Olympics were used by the Nazis to show themselves to be a country of "peace" and to further propagandise the myth of the "Triumph of The Will".
Whilst North Korea is not hosting the Games, it will do its best to ride the coattails of ROK wrt the positive publicity the Games will engender. ROK should be on its guard and maximise the opportunity (if North Korea really does attend) to show the North the benefits of democracy, a high standard of living and geopolitical/economic interaction with the world.
North and South Korea both agree to further working-level talks regarding the Olympics, and state that they are getting closer to a "joint march" for the Olympics. @YonhapNews
Classic media scrum in #Seoul. Uni. Minister Cho Myoung Gyon swarmed. Cho’s car swarmed as he gets in. Cho followed all the way to the #DMZ on live TV. Cho will lead South in inter-Korean talks from 10a, local. First high-level talks in more than 2 yrs #통일부#남한#북한#한국pic.twitter.com/GWn7tZ5Uco
Following the hastily arranged and much hyped meeting today between ROK and North Korea, it has been agreed that North Korea will attend the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang (9 February - 25 February 2018) and that they will march in with the ROK team.
#breaking North Korea to send high-ranking delegation & cheering team to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, will walk with South Korea in opening ceremony. South Korea proposes reunion of divided families around the Lunar New Year on Feb 16. - Yonhap & Reuters
As to whether this actually comes to fruition, we shall see.
There are ample opportunities for things to blow this off course eg:
- North Korea performs one of its usual provocations
- The USA decides not to postpone its military exercises
- The USA boycotts the Games
- The USA enacts a pre emptive strike
- People start asking too many questions about who is paying for the North Korean delegation (they never pay their way).
