North Korea ready for dialogue because of confidence in nuclear capabilities
(Baonghean.vn) - For a long time, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ignored peace proposals from Seoul. However, Mr. Kim is about to conduct an official dialogue with his southern neighbor for the first time in more than 2 years.
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| Members of the North Korean People's Security Council participate in an anti-US protest in September 2017. Photo: AP |
North Korea’s sudden interest in engaging in dialogue has something to do with Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal. “North Korea has made significant progress in its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, so I think they’re willing to show goodwill to engage in dialogue now, because they’ve really demonstrated a budding nuclear capability that can hit the continental United States,” said Taylor Fravel, a political scientist at MIT.
This expert said he does not have much hope for the discussion between South Korea and North Korea tomorrow, January 9. According to him, at this meeting, the two sides will focus on discussing the possibility of the North Korean sports delegation participating in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
“The big question now is whether a second round of talks will take place,” said Fravel, who is also a member of the board of directors of the National Committee on US-China Relations. “Certainly, not much will be resolved in one meeting… we will see how far North Korea is willing to go.”
So far, the likelihood of Pyongyang taking provocative action during the Olympics is low. Mr. Fravel said the North Korean leader "clearly signaled his willingness not to disrupt the biggest sporting event on the planet," because, he said, this is still a North Korean event, albeit one of neighboring South Korea, and Pyongyang still values the goal of reunification.