A new era of diplomatic relations with North Korea could be on the horizon - here's what's happened so far
During her trip to South Korea, Kim Yo Jong — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister — delivered a letter to South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The letter indicated a willingness to foster better relations between the Koreas. There was also an invitation to visit Pyongyang, North Korea's capital.
Kim Yo Jong's trip to South Korea marked the first time since the Korean War that a ruling family member of the North Korean regime visited the country.
North Korea then sent Kim Yong Chol, the country's vice chairman of the ruling Worker's Party Central Committee and the country's former intelligence chief, to South Korea for the Closing Ceremony at the Winter Olympics. Following Yo Jong's lead, Yong Chol also delivered a bombshell announcement: that North Korea was willing to hold diplomatic talks with the US.
Source: Yonhap News
Meanwhile, the US imposed additional punitive measures against North Korea. The new restrictions were lauded as the "largest package of new sanctions" on the regime, which included targeting ships suspected of carrying banned weapons components to or from North Korea.
Source: Reuters
Despite his heated rhetoric in public statements, US President Donald Trump has also teased the possibility of conducting talks with North Korea.
Source: The Associated Press
Meanwhile, the US State Department stressed that it would only entertain discussions with North Korea only if the regime commits to denuclearization.
Source: US State Department
But the State Department experienced personnel shortages for key positions. The Trump administration decided not to nominate as ambassador to South Korea Victor Cha, a leading expert on the Korean Peninsula. The position has remained unfilled for over a year.
Joseph Yun, the point man on US-North Korean relations in the State Department, also resigned due to personal reasons.
After the Winter Olympics, South Korea sent an envoy of senior security officials to North Korea who personally met with its leader. The discussions appeared to bear fruit, as North Korea made several remarks indicating its willingness to soften its rhetoric.
South Korean officials said that North Korea expressed its "will" to denuclearize if its national security was guaranteed, and that it would halt its nuclear and missile tests during bilateral talks.
Source: NK News
The two Koreas have also made plans to re-establish a hotline, and a landmark meeting between Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un is set to take place in April — the first meeting between leaders of the two countries in 11 years.
The South Korean envoy is scheduled to travel to the US, where they will brief their counterparts on their discussions with North Korea.
Despite the apparent progress on the Korean Peninsula, a South Korean government official said it was not possible to postpone its annual joint military drills with the US in April — an activity that frequently bristles the North.
In response to the most recent developments, Trump said that he believes North Korea is "sincere," but noted that "they are sincere also because the sanctions."
The US also upped the ante against the North on Tuesday, March 6, announcing a new set of sanctions after the State Department determined North Korea used the chemical agent VX to assassinate Kim Jong Nam — Kim Jong Un's half-brother — in 2017.
Source: Reuters
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