It took longer than expected, but North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has finally played the most valuable card in his hand: offering talks with South Korea in an attempt to drive a wedge between Seoul and its ally, the United States, and a key diplomatic partner, Japan. The South Korean government of President Moon Jae-in seized the opportunity, suggesting a meeting next week, and promptly exchanged messages with Pyongyang via a hotline that had been dormant for almost two years. The opening should be explored, but Seoul must remain skeptical about Pyongyang's intentions and ensure that any concessions are reciprocated and don't undermine the goal of getting it to abandon its nuclear weapons.
Kim's gambit was laid out in his New Year's address. While boasting of his country's growing nuclear capability — and the "nuclear button" on his desk that could launch missiles capable of hitting "the whole territory of the U.S." — Kim also said that the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, which will be held next month in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang, "will serve as a good occasion for demonstrating our nation's prestige and we earnestly wish the Olympic Games a success." He then offered to send a North Korean delegation to the games and said his government was prepared to negotiate ways to make that happen.
The Moon government welcomed the move, suggesting that talks to discuss participation in the Olympics commence next Tuesday in the truce village of Panmunjom. That receptivity is no surprise. Moon has sought talks with the North since taking office and there has been concern in Washington and Tokyo that Seoul would accommodate the North in ways that threatened the solidarity of the three countries and undermine the effort to get the North to denuclearize. Until now, Pyongyang has done nothing that would give Seoul reason to shift its position; that refusal to moderate its hard line has been more surprising than the North's commitment to its nuclear weapons program.