the United States, denuclearizing North Korea, and improving inter-Korean ties, and he avowed that throughout his presidency he would commit to parallel advancements in denuclearization and a peace treaty to put an end to the Korean War.
So when Kim expressed his desire to improve ties to the South in his New Year’s address after months of ignoring Seoul’s entreaties for rapprochement, the Moon administration saw an opportunity. Kim also said he was willing to send a delegation to the February Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, “since we are compatriots of the same blood as south Koreans, it is natural for us to share their pleasure over the auspicious event and help them.” The leadership in Seoul immediately seized the moment and quickly extended an invitation to North Korea to attend the Olympics, set to open on February 9, while conveniently ignoring North Korea’s threats in that same speech. Alarmed by Trump’s tough talk and fearful about what other provocative actions Kim might next take, not to mention tepid Olympic ticket sales in part because of U.S.–North Korean tensions—South Korea had sold only around 30 percent of available tickets by December—Moon jumped at the chance to lower the temperature and take the reins. (He was probably also worried about what North Korea might do to thwart the success of the Olympics. In 1987, a year before the Seoul Olympics, Kim Jong Il dispatched two spies to plant a bomb on Korean Air Flight 858; 115 people were killed. A declassified CIA memo from that year assessed that “Pyongyang’s public threats against the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics and its sabotage of a South Korea airliner last November clearly point to North Korea as the greatest challenge to the security of the Games.”)
The Moon administration’s eagerness made some Korea watchers cringe, as they warned that Kim’s offer was a trap, a well-worn regime tactic designed to drive a wedge in the U.S.–South Korean relationship and dampen sanctions enforcement, all while buying time for Pyongyang to continue developing nuclear weapons. Critics charged that Moon handed Kim a propaganda victory, as South Korean and international media showcased the North’s Masikryong ski resort, a possible venue for Olympics training, and gushed over Hyon Song Wol, a singer in North Korea’s all-female Moranbong Band, as she scouted for potential venues for her compatriots’ Samjiyon Orchestra. Indeed, if one were to view North Korea through the euphoric lens of the “peace Olympics,” the cruel, impoverished, and isolated regime seemed almost normal and, frankly, upscale and modern—exactly what Kim wanted the world to see.
While the Moon administration touted the thaw in inter-Korean relations as laying the foundation for U.S.–North Korean dialogue on denuclearization, Pyongyang did not budge an inch, continuing to refuse talks about the nuclear issue, belittling Seoul’s efforts to avoid violating sanctions in its plans for North Korea’s participation, and gearing up for a massive military parade on the eve of the Olympics. And as the Koreas engaged in talks and issued comments about reconciliation and cooperation, Washington, for its part, held firm on maximum pressure, rolled out sanctions, and insisted that unless North Korea showed interest in “serious and credible” denuclearization negotiations, the United States would not entertain plans to meet with its officials before or after the Olympics. Secretary of State Tillerson in mid-January 2018 declared that “the pressure campaign will continue until North Korea takes decisive steps to denuclearize.” He emphasized the importance of being steadfast: “I think we all need to be very sober and clear-eyed about the current situation….We have to recognize that the threat is growing.”
Meanwhile, Kim dispatched his younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, a member of the Politburo and vice director of the party’s Propaganda and Agitation Department—and designated as a violator of human rights by the United States—and Kim Yong Nam, the ninety-year-old president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, to the opening ceremony of the Olympics, along with North Korean athletes and cheerleaders. Yo Jong’s attendance at the event was the first time a Kim family member had visited South Korea and it signified Kim Jong Un’s trust in his sibling. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, along with Otto Warmbier’s father, attended the event; in his meeting with President Moon, Pence emphasized that South Korea should continue to apply maximum pressure after the Olympics. He refused to acknowledge Yo Jong and the North Korean delegation, keeping U.S.–North Korean ties on ice. Pence was reported to be planning to meet with them,