First, it was Kim Jong-Un’s sister Kim Yo-Jong who came to South Korea for the inauguration of the 2018 Winter Olympics, and now it is Ivanka Trump, daughter of US President Donald Trump, who has arrived for the closing ceremony. President Moon Jae-in of South Korea is keen to normalize relations with North Korea and wants to explore avenues to ensure that peace returns to the Korean peninsula.
New York Times reports that Ivanka is a senior White House adviser, and she was accorded a grand welcome when she arrived at Incheon International Airport.
President Moon Jae-in hosted a Korean dinner for her at the presidential Blue House in Seoul. She will be leading the American delegation to Pyeongchang, the venue of the closing ceremony.
Peace is the need of the hour
Moon Jae-in has a tough task ahead. He had expected an initial thaw in relations between the United States and North Korea at the inauguration because Kim Yo-Jong, sister of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was present along with the American vice president Mike Pence. She was seated just behind Pence, but there was no interaction. Of course, she did meet the president of South Korea and invited him over to the North for a meeting with her brother. However, a meeting between Pence and Pyongyang’s delegates did not materialize.
Officials of South Korea are treading cautiously for the closing ceremony. While IvankaTrump will represent America, the North would be represented by Kim Yong-Chol. He is the spy chief, and his name has been linked with a number of incidents related to activities directed against the interests of South Korea. The name of the individual appears in the sanctions list of the United States since 2010.
Moon Jae-in has a tough role
South Korea wants to avoid a situation like the one that emerged at the inauguration when there was a tense standoff between Kim Jong-un's sister and the US vice president Mike Pence. Therefore, the authorities have no intention of any meeting between Ivanka Trump and the delegation from North Korea.
She also wants to maintain a distance from the North Korean delegation. President Donald Trump has full confidence in his daughter who has reiterated the resolve of the United States to exert maximum pressure on Pyongyang.
In the opinion of observers, the North is trying to drive a wedge between the South and the United States and Moon Jae-in has to strike a balance. He wants a reunification of the two Koreas to bring peace to the region and also does not want to antagonize an ally like America.
