North Korea Olympic thaw will not address other issues
Friday, January 12, 2018
Significance
Seoul anticipates a North Korean delegation of 400-500 people, including not only athletes but also reporters, observers and officials.
Impacts
- Pyongyang's Olympic olive branch is a major tactical change, but it is premature to see it as a strategic shift.
- Military talks will address the cross-border security implications of Pyongyang joining the Games, but probably not broader issues.
- South Korea's president will try to extend the Olympic thaw into other spheres, but wider engagement will prove tricky.
- The US president is supportive, claiming credit for the breakthrough, but Washington may see further South Korean concessions as excessive.