Ivanka to arrive in Seoul on Friday

By Kim Bo-eun

Attention is growing over the scheduled visit of Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, to South Korea this week.

The junior Trump is set to attend the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Sunday. Details of her visit have not yet been disclosed, but she will likely arrive on Friday and meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in during her stay, according to reports.

Ivanka’s visit is drawing scrutiny because she is seen as an envoy of the U.S. president, and could possibly deliver a message on Washington-Pyongyang talks.

Earlier, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s younger sister Kim Yo-jong visited the South as part of a high-level delegation for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

In a meeting with President Moon, Kim delivered a letter from her brother, inviting Moon to Pyongyang for talks.

Moon gave a positive, yet cautious response, stating Washington-Pyongyang talks were necessary for the improvement of inter-Korean relations.

In this context, the President told reporters on Saturday the time is not ripe for inter-Korean talks, signaling the government will not seek dialogue in haste.

This is because without talks between the U.S. and North Korea on the latter’s denuclearization, inter-Korean dialogue could be seen as stepping out of line from the international community’s stance on the reclusive regime, which favors pressure and sanctions based on Pyongyang’s repeated nuclear and missile provocations.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited South Korea for the Olympics opening ceremony, but did not interact with the high-level delegation from North Korea during his stay.

On his visit, Pence and Moon reaffirmed maximum sanctions on Pyongyang. Pence also stepped up Washington’s pressure campaign by visiting memorials for South Korean sailors killed in North Korean maritime attacks and denouncing the repressive regime in a meeting with North Korean defectors.

Pence’s disposition was seen as a hard-line stance toward North Korea.

However, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in an interview on Sunday he is “listening” for signs that North Korea is ready to engage in direct talks.

The U.S. has maintained Pyongyang’s efforts toward denuclearization be a precondition for talks, but of late appears to have lowered the bar, expressing willingness to hold preliminary talks.

Pyongyang has not yet hinted at the possibility of dialogue with Washington.

Earlier, the Korean Central News Agency quoted North Korea’s diplomat Cho Yong-sam as saying North Korea “has not begged for talks with the U.S. and will not do so,” before the start of the Games.

A factor that may affect prospects of Washington-Pyongyang talks are joint military drills by the U.S. and South Korea that are set to take place in April.

Early this year, the two allies agreed to push back their joint military exercises until after the Olympics and Paralympics. Pyongyang agreed to high-level inter-Korean talks in January, which enabled the North’s participation in the Olympics, after the Washington-Seoul drills were delayed.

Pyongyang, which sees the training as a threat to its regime, has been calling for the drills to be permanently halted.