Pyeongchang Diplomacy: A Nutcracker Dividing North Korea and the United States?

Vice President Mike Pence boycotted the presidential reception of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics opening ceremony held by President Moon Jae-in on Feb. 9. The diplomatic efforts of the Moon government, which tried to make the Olympic Games a part of the North Korean–U.S. dialogue, were put to the test. The Blue House released a preliminary reception head table seating list.* Pence was to sit on the left side of Moon. Kim Yong Nam, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea, was to sit in the seat opposite Pence. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Pence did not enter until Moon had finished his welcoming address. Furthermore, the two men entered after the toast was over. Pence left the reception five minutes after shaking hands with the heads of state in attendance. He did not shake hands with Kim.

The Blue House said in a briefing afterward, “Vice President Pence arranged dinner at 6:30 p.m. with the U.S. athletes and informed us in advance.”** The reception is a highlight of the event. Pence was the most important guest speaker. It does not make sense that such an important person did not attend the ceremony just to have dinner with his athletes. In fact, if this is true, it is a disaster for Korean diplomacy. It seems that the vice president boycotted the event to avoid meeting with Kim.

Prior to the reception, Pence visited Cheonan Memorial Hall and the 357 Chamsuri-class patrol boat, which participated in the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong.*** In a meeting with North Korean refugees, he criticized North Korea as “a regime that imprisons, tortures and impoverishes its citizens.” It is likely Pence thought it would be awkward to sit with Kim, who came from North Korea, and dine under those circumstances.

President Moon met with diplomatic envoys that visited South Korea to attend the Olympics, gratefully acknowledged his support of inter-Korean dialogue and called for cooperation to lead to dialogue between North and South Korea. However, the U.S. has responded with a degree of frustration that was unexpected given the U.S.- Korea relationship to date. Where on earth is the relationship between South Korea and the U.S. heading? President Moon will have a luncheon on Oct. 10 with Chairman Kim and with Kim Yo Jong, the first deputy head of the Central Committee of the Labor Party and the younger sister of Kim Jong Nam. It is unclear what will happen here, but it is clear that North Korea’s goal is to ease the sanctions through inter-Korean relations. I am worried that Pyeongchang peace diplomacy, which the government has been ambitiously pursuing, has trapped North Korea and the U.S. a nutcracker.

*Editor’s note: The Blue House is the executive office and official residence of the president of South Korea.

**Editor’s note: This quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.

***Editor’s note: The Second Battle of Yeonpyeong was a confrontation at sea between North Korean and South Korean patrol boats along a disputed maritime boundary near Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea in 2002.