Inter-Korean dialogue may resume soon

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un bows before delivering a New Year’s address, broadcast by the state-run Korean Central TV, Monday. In North Korea, its leader is rarely seen bowing. Kim also wore a light grey suit instead of the dark-colored uniform he usually wears for official events. He also did not wear any badges depicting portraits of his father or grandfather. / Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s New Year address Monday increased the likelihood for inter-Korean talks to take place soon, as the young leader showed a stronger willingness than ever to improve frozen relations between the two Koreas, according to experts.

During his speech broadcast by the state-run TV station, Kim said his regime is willing to send a delegation to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea in February, suggesting holding inter-Korea talks to discuss the issue.

The South Korean government welcomed Kim’s message as President Moon Jae-in has encouraged the North to participate in the games in order for the event to be held successfully and peacefully.

Cheong Seong-chang, a senior research fellow at the Sejong Institute, said authorities of the two Koreas are expected to meet as soon as possible to discuss Pyongyang’s participation in the Olympics.

“This would create a mood of reconciliation between the two Koreas,” he said.

For their part, South Korea and the United States are expected to announce their decision soon to delay the allies’ joint annual military drills that could coincide with the Olympics, Cheong said.

President Moon earlier proposed to the United States to postpone the exercises as part of measures to ease military tensions around the Korean Peninsula.

Cheong added that inter-Korean exchanges are also expected to significantly increase this year as Kim said the North is open to talk with anybody from the South including political parties and various civic groups.

Expectation for the high-level contacts between the two Koreas are also being raised, given the North sent a delegation of three high-ranking officials _ Hwang Pyong-so, Choe Ryong-hae and the late Kim Yang-gon _ to the closing ceremony of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games held in the South. Top military official Hwang was cited as one of the closest aides to the young leader and has been called the “No.2 man in the North.”

Once talks begin upon the opportunity of the Winter Olympics, the communication channel at the truce village of Panmunjeom could resume normal operation, experts noted. The channel was cut off following the Park Geun-hye government’s decision in February 2016 to shut down the inter-Korean industrial complex, located in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong.

Kim Yeon-chul, a unification studies professor at Inje University, said Kim turned to a peace offensive based on what he claimed was the regime’s nuclear deterrent.

“Kim highlighted inter-Korean relations the most during his address,” he said. “This is construed as willingness to resolve the regime’s relations with the outside world by using its relations with the South as a stepping stone.”

However, analysts also expect the North to continue to advance its nuclear and missile programs, given that Kim, during the speech, urged his aides to give efforts to mass-produce reliable nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles and accelerate their deployment. The young leader also threatened to strike the United States, saying a button for nuclear weapons is always placed on his desk.

“The South Korean government needs to think carefully about how to deal with North Korea nuclear issues while improving inter-Korean relations at the same time,” Cheong said. “Keen cooperation with the United States and China is also necessary.”