Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/olympics-top-north-korean-official-to-visit-south-for-winter-9926536
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We can all hope for a peaceful and engaging Olympics this year with North and South Korea competing side by side. I do worry that north Korea is only sending a non-family diplomat as Kim sees them as expendable. I think it would be prudent to be very alert to any and all actions by the North in and out of South Korea.
I think we should not be too quick to 2nd guess that N Korea is not sending a non-family diplomat and hence is not sincere.
This diplomat is quite a high profile official.
Asia culture is quite different from the West - where what it seems unimportant move could be an important move. Thus reading too much into it may lead to misinterpretation.
So let keep a watchful eyes on the development with mindful breath - and hope that real breakthrough can come - if not now, hopefully in the near future.
It is very clear that N Korea, US, S Korea or Japan, China and Russia - not much less Asia Pacific Countries want to see a war breakout in Korean Peninsula --- because it hurts everyone.
Let's hope something can be work out - and eventually resolve the tension in Korean Peninsula and lead to denuclearisation.
This diplomat is quite a high profile official.
Asia culture is quite different from the West - where what it seems unimportant move could be an important move. Thus reading too much into it may lead to misinterpretation.
So let keep a watchful eyes on the development with mindful breath - and hope that real breakthrough can come - if not now, hopefully in the near future.
It is very clear that N Korea, US, S Korea or Japan, China and Russia - not much less Asia Pacific Countries want to see a war breakout in Korean Peninsula --- because it hurts everyone.
Let's hope something can be work out - and eventually resolve the tension in Korean Peninsula and lead to denuclearisation.
Asia culture is one that start slow, build trust, build confidence, start with something that seems small, a small step, do something that seems unimportant - and slowly move into something that is of interest to both parties.
This is unlike Western culture that go straight into the main topic and want immediate result - that is still cold, very sensitive and still unyielding - and if things don't happen as expected - try to use high-hand tactics. This will not work for Asia culture.
Hence, let S Korea Leaders lead the way in this - as they understand N Korea culture better than anyone do.
"Exchange of Heart" 交心 - is the crux that may lead to breakthrough.
This is unlike Western culture that go straight into the main topic and want immediate result - that is still cold, very sensitive and still unyielding - and if things don't happen as expected - try to use high-hand tactics. This will not work for Asia culture.
Hence, let S Korea Leaders lead the way in this - as they understand N Korea culture better than anyone do.
"Exchange of Heart" 交心 - is the crux that may lead to breakthrough.
When Mr Lee Kuan Yew visit China and meet the then Mr Deng Xiao Ping - "Exchange of Heart" 交心 - is the crux that lead to the breakthrough - that change China's heart to integrate with the World economically.
Think this could be possible if the "right key" is used correctly on N Korea.
Think this could be possible if the "right key" is used correctly on N Korea.
We should take a cue on how China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos - break out from economic and political isolation to embrace the World and integrate with the World economically.
(1) China by "Exchanging of Heart" with Singapore and then open up economically and integrate with the World. China work with someone they can trust - which is Singapore.
(2) Vietnam work with Asean by joining ASEAN to open up economically.
(3) Cambodia, Laos work with both China and joining ASEAN to open up economically.
N Korea will have to work with "someone" he can trust - and do similar things like what China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos did.
(1) China by "Exchanging of Heart" with Singapore and then open up economically and integrate with the World. China work with someone they can trust - which is Singapore.
(2) Vietnam work with Asean by joining ASEAN to open up economically.
(3) Cambodia, Laos work with both China and joining ASEAN to open up economically.
N Korea will have to work with "someone" he can trust - and do similar things like what China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos did.
Hopes for talks grow with North Korea's ceremonial leader to visit South Korea for Olympics
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(Updated: )
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SEOUL: North Korea's ceremonial leader will make an unprecedented visit to South Korea this week, officials said on Monday (Feb 5), as hopes grow for high-level inter-Korean talks during the Winter Olympics that begin in four days.
North Korea's official KCNA news agency confirmed on Monday that Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, would attend the Olympics' opening ceremony on Friday in South Korea's alpine resort town of Pyeongchang.
Seoul's Unification Ministry said on Sunday Kim would lead a 22-strong delegation that was expected to arrive in South Korea on Friday for a three-day trip.
Kim's visit comes as Seoul pins its hopes on high-level talks during the Feb 9 to 25 Games between not only the two Koreas but also the North and the United States.
The South's presidential Blue House in Seoul said the visit by Kim, the most senior North Korean official to cross the border into the South since the Korean War ended with a truce in 1953, would create "various opportunities" for high-level talks.
"(Kim's visit) shows North Korea's resolve for improved inter-Korean relations and the success of the Olympics, as well as its sincere, earnest attitude," Blue House spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told a news briefing on Monday.
The Games opening ceremony will also be attended by US Vice President Mike Pence, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other world leaders.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in told his US counterpart Donald Trump in a phone call on Friday that the momentum of improved North-South relations would continue and that Pence's visit would be an "important prelude for that", according to the Blue House.
Trump said during a meeting with North Korean defectors on Friday that, despite a "very tricky situation", North Korea's participation in the Olympics could result in "something good".
However, a White House official has said Pence planned to use his attendance to counter what he sees as Pyongyang's efforts to "hijack" the Olympics with a propaganda campaign.
SANCTIONS EXEMPTION
A North Korean art troupe would also likely travel by ship to perform during the Olympics under an exemption from bilateral sanctions, the South's Unification Ministry said on Monday. With performances set for later this week, the North proposed on Sunday that the art troupe use a ferry for transportation and lodging, according to the Unification Ministry.
South Korea banned all North Korean ships from entering its ports in May 2010 and cut off most inter-Korean exchanges, including tourism, trade and aid, in response to a torpedo attack by the North on a navy ship that killed 46 sailors.
The Unification Ministry said no final decision had been made but it was in consultation with Washington and others to temporarily lift the ban to facilitate the North's proposal.
"We're seeking to apply an exemption for the May (2010) measures to support a successful hosting of the Olympics," ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told a news briefing.
The North used the ship, the Mangyongbong 92, for similar purposes during the 2002 Asian Games in the South Korean port city of Busan. The ship now chiefly operates between North Korea and Russia.
The North had initially asked that the art troupe be allowed to cross the border by foot via Panmunjom, located in the demilitarised zone where a North Korean soldier staged a daring defection to the South in November.
The orchestra is scheduled to perform at Gangneung, near Pyeongchang, on Thursday and in the capital, Seoul, on Sunday.
TIGHT SECURITY
A lawmaker in Seoul said some 36,000 foreigners had been banned from entering South Korea, including people connected with extremist groups such as Islamic State, to ensure security during the Games.
Lawmaker Yi Wan-young told reporters of the ban after being briefed by the nation's spy agency on Monday. Yi said around 60,000 security personnel would guard Olympics venues.
Kim is North Korea's nominal head of state, while the reclusive country is ruled by Kim Jong Un, the third-generation hereditary leader.
Kim Yong Nam also attended the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
He is not blacklisted by the United Nations or the United States because he is not involved in the North's illicit nuclear and missile programmes or associated with related research institutes.
In 2014, Pyongyang sent Choe Ryong Hae, a close aide to Kim Jong Un, as part of a high-level delegation to attend the closing ceremony of the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
Choe is subject to unilateral sanctions imposed by South Korea in 2016.
"Kim Yong Nam has little influence in North Korean internal politics, inter-Korean affairs or the nuclear issues, but has mainly been taking charge of summit diplomacy," said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior fellow at South Korea's Sejong Institute think tank.
"This time, if he gets to meet Moon, he could convey Kim Jong Un's message or invitation to Pyongyang," Cheong said.
Source: Reuters/zl
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/hopes-for-talks-grow-with-north-korea-s-ceremonial-leader-to-visit-south-korea-for-olympics-9927810
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/hopes-for-talks-grow-with-north-korea-s-ceremonial-leader-to-visit-south-korea-for-olympics-9927810
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