By Lee Min-hyung
North Korea will “hijack” the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, taking advantage of the event as a tool to spread the regime’s political propaganda to international society, according to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.
Pence, who will visit South Korea for the Olympics next month, said he is concerned that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will steal the limelight away from the Games host country and make “ill use” of the event to send provocative messages to the world.
“The North Koreans have been master manipulators in the past,” Pence was quoted as saying on a recent trip to the Middle East. “It is a murderous state. Kim is going to root on the Olympics and he is excited about that. He is also going to ensure that from a messaging standpoint that it is turned into two weeks of propaganda.”
The remark is in line with growing concerns from South Korea’s conservative politicians. They are stepping up their criticism of the Moon Jae-in administration for giving “unsparing favors” to Pyongyang by accepting the regime’s requests for the Olympics.
This comes about a week after the two Koreas agreed to establish a joint women’s ice hockey team and march under a “unified flag” during the sporting event.
Seoul, for its part, also asked Pyongyang to hold a series of inter-Korean exchanges - such as the reunion of families separated by the 1950-1953 Korean War - in return for allowing the North to form the joint sports team and perform concerts in Seoul and Pyongyang during the Olympics.
The reclusive regime, however, has yet to deliver any response to these, but instead, made public its plan to conduct a large-scale military parade on the eve of the Olympics.
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense said that it is still waiting for a response from the North on holding inter-Korean military talks. Spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo said in a media briefing this week that responses from Pyongyang remain up in the air, adding that once the regime delivers one, she will make it public.
The government's stance has sparked controversy here, with opposition parties and civic groups denouncing the Moon administration for doing nothing and giving the North a free ride to the Olympics.
Liberty Korea Party spokesman Kim Sung-won said Thursday: “The government is walking on eggshells around North Korea, and as a result, some South Korean athletes on the women’s ice hockey and speed skating teams have fallen victims to this stance.”
The joint ice hockey team has particularly been the talk of the political town here, as some South Korean players will have to give up their positions to their North Korean counterparts to form the inter-Korean 22-member final squad.
He urged the government to take responsibility for its decision to form the inter-Korean team and apologize to the South Korean athletes who have fallen biggest prey for political gain.