North Korea has been very clear about their opposition to upcoming
US-South Korea war games, and while they seem to be willing to get back
to diplomacy with the US in the future, the exercises risk to have derailed all inter-Korean talks.
North Korea’s newest statement says that they see no reason at all for
further talks with South Korea’s President Moon, and that they consider
inter-Korean talks to be entirely over at this point.
That’s a huge blow, as such talks were Moon’s top goal, and inter-Korean
talks were the primary way diplomacy in general was making any
advancement. North Korea seems to believe that direct US talks are all
they really need now.
That might be less about anger over the exercises, though that’s clearly
a factor, and the reality that the US has blocked previous efforts to
increase inter-Korean ties. Until the US gives its permission, there’s
nothing more they can accomplish with South Korea.
What on Earth has happened to SK President Moon Jae-In lately? Last year he and his NK counterpart – Chairman Kim Jong-Un – communicated with each other nearly daily .. Moon even went to NK to watch the Winter Olympics, wherein athletes from the 2 countries marched in and out together.
We were all hoping the two leaders would continue their dialogue and the DMZ would cease to exist as a result. So, Kim launched a few projectiles into the Sea of Japan. Still, Moon didn’t have to get hysterical about it .. Kim wasn’t firing them directly at SK. No wonder, NK got angry with him and told him there would be no more intra-Korean talks.
I’m truly shocked at Moon’s about-face regarding intra-Korean talks, which had been going quite well last year. Did Kim say or do something to set him off?