It is difficult to improve inter-Korean relations during the term of office… Last-minute thought over whether President Moon Jae-in will visit China
North Korea has officially announced that it will not participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics next month. The Blue House is still reluctant to say whether President Moon Jae-in will attend the Olympics, but analysts say that the possibility of Moon’s visit to China has become lower as North Korea is not present following the US diplomatic boycott. Naturally, the declaration of an end to the war, which President Moon is making all-out efforts at the end of his term in office, has also become opaque.
North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun said on the 7th, “I was unable to participate in the Games due to the maneuvers of hostile forces and the global epidemic situation.” Following the launch of a hypersonic missile into the East Sea on the 5th, it dismissed the possibility of participating in the Beijing Olympics. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Wang Won-bin (汪文斌) said at a briefing on the same day, “I fully understand that North Korea is unable to participate in the Olympics for special reasons.”
However, following the US diplomatic boycott, North Korea also announced its absence, increasing the possibility that the government’s plan to use the Beijing Olympics as an opportunity to advance the declaration of an end to the war would actually fail. Considering that the next presidential election will be held on March 9, right following the closing of the Beijing Olympics, it has become difficult to build momentum for improving inter-Korean relations during the remainder of President Moon’s tenure. Jeong Seong-jang, director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute, said, “It will not be easy for North Korea to send a delegation to the Olympics because the border has been so tightly closed that it will not allow a new Chinese ambassador to enter the country.” .
Deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification Cha Duk-cheol said at a regular briefing on the same day, “We will continue to monitor related trends” regarding North Korea’s absence from the Olympics. The Blue House, too, is still hesitant to say whether President Moon will visit China or not. However, the fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping may request President Moon’s participation in the Olympics at the South Korea-China video summit, which is likely to be held in the last week of this month, seems to be a variable. If President Moon does not attend, there is also a possibility that Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom or Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang Hee will attend the Olympic opening ceremony with the athletes.
By Choi Ji-seon, staff reporter aurinko@donga.com