Kim Jong-un has done something which many thought was unthinkable. He invited the South Korean president Moon to Pyongyang in a personal invitation which was handed over by his sister during the ongoing winter Olympics. The South Korean President was taken by surprise as the invitation has put him in a quandary. He cannot accept the invitation without the approval of the United States, which bankrolls his government economically and militarily.
There are nearly 28000 US troops in North Korea, and the powerful US fleet is hovering around in the waters of the Korean peninsula.
No wonder the response of Moon is muted and he has said the North would have to talk to the USA. This was not the reply the world expected as Moon had all along been saying, especially during the election campaign that he favored negotiations with the North. Now when presented with an invitation to visit North Korea he has developed cramps.
ArmadaNews has reported that the invitation from Kim Jong-un was handed down personally by his sister during their meeting at the presidential palace in Seul.
Moon at a loss
All earlier talk by Moon during the election campaign of a reapproachment with the North has been jettisoned. He has realized that the South is hostage to US policy in East Asia and he dare not move out of the confines laid down by Uncle Sam.The USA considers North Korea as an enemy state, and the North reciprocates this.
The Times of India has reported that no invitation has been sent to Trump and Kim in a shrewd move only invited moon, knowing that Moon cannot accept without concurrence from the USA.
Invitation
Kim has by this invitation set the cat among the pigeons. He has shown the world he is a reasonable man and at the same time made many in the South realize that they are hostage to US policy in Asia.
His invitation is also an attempt to drive a wedge between the USA and South Korea. Till date, Moon has been echoing the sentiments of Donald Trump and cooperating with the USA in military deployments as a"deterrent" to North Korean "aggression." With this invitation, the South Korean president is at a loss how to react.
Vietnam
One is reminded of the war in Vietnam. For over two decades the USA propped up the South Vietnam regime, but it collapsed like a house of cards once the USA withdrew. The South was unified with the North. This is one reason the USA will not demilitarize the Korean peninsula and withdraw as that will be curtains for the South Korean regime.The USA must think. Just like Ho Chi Minh was not a puppet of China, so is Kim.
