Olympics and Foreign Policy

The active engagement of North Korea in PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games doesn’t mean a better bilateral relation with U.S and neither with South Korea. It is true that it is in the interest of U.S and South Korea for the reunification, but only with South Korea leading the North to the democratic transformation. Portrayal of happy and liberated nation in front of the rest of international community did successfully improve the self-image of North Korea, but not enough to convince that it is willing to let go all of this totalitarian power which it is so proud of.

The obvious truth of North Korea interests has already been proved with the case of “Sunshine policy”. The Sunshine policy was a soft-hearted bribery implemented by South Korea from 1998 to 2003, with its aim to develop friendly relation with the North through economic cooperation and financial aid. It was abandoned for the reasons that the policy was, in practice, indirectly funding the dreadful nuclear program of North Korea and this was obviously misaligned with the intention of U.S, with George W Bush claiming North Korea as “an axis of evil”. The abandonment of Sunshine Policy also provided that the reunification for a national identity is not necessarily the most important priority for either North or South Korea, and the clear preference of South Korea for the involvement of U.S in the issue.

President Trump has been providing mixed messages with his policy on North Korea such he has stated for the total destruction of North Korea and personally insulted its leader, but also suggested he'd be willing to sit down for talks with Kim Jong-un. But for one thing sure is Trump will not deviate his policy from the fundamentals of decades old foreign policy approach, thus, to prevent and exterminate the nuclear threat threatening the free people, to sit down and negotiate with North Korea at the right circumstances (the possibility for denuclearization) and to enforce North Korea into desired condition through pressure and isolation. This similar approach called by Trump administration is “maximum pressure and engagement”. Moreover, the new president of South Korea, Moon Jae in, despite for being a liberalist leader, has already dismissed the popular perception of his possible reinstallation of Sunshine Policy. He actively shows the preference for joint partnership with U.S, acknowledging North Korea indeed requires the pressure and international sanctions to coerce it back to the path of denuclearization. It is clearly visible that U.S and South Korea possesses the strong mutual security benefits, which would not be faded by one positive engagement of North Korea in the international community.

What the Olympics showed was the short-term outcome of positive accomplishment by which North Korea tried to improve its self-image. It is rational for South Korea to respond positively towards North Korea in Olympics, with the confidence that the U.S – South Korea alliance has already adopted the strong foreign policy. It is true that Olympics has brought together North and South Korea for the first time, but still peace and security are what South Korea has been looking for, not the reunification. Thus, the bilateral relations of North Korea with U.S and South Korea will still remain the same.