USA and North Korea set to come face to face as South Korea tries to engineer talks
MORE efforts should be made to bring North Korea and the USA face-to-face at the negotiating
table, according to South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
Mr Moon said he wanted to ensure inter-Korean meetings ahead of next month's Winter Olympics
led to talks between officials from Pyongyang and Washington over Kim Jong-un's weapons
programmes.
After a year of growing tensions in the region, diplomacy focused on sport enabled the International
Olympic Committee to announce that North Korea will send 22 athletes to the Winter Games.
Mr Moon said the Olympics provided a "precious chance to open the door" for a peaceful resolution
of the North Korean nuclear issue and establishment of peace on the Korean peninsula.
But he warned: "But no one can be optimistic about how long the current mood for dialogue
will last.
"We need wisdom and efforts to sustain the dialogue opportunities beyond the Olympics
so that the inter-Korean talks will lead to talks between the United States and North
Korea and other forms of dialogue".
Opinion polls show most South Koreans welcome the North's participation in the Games but
conservative opponents staged a small protest as a delegation from Pyongyang inspected venues
in Seoul for cultural events to be held on the sidelines.
Police were forced to intervene when a picture of Kim was burned on the steps of Seoul's
central train station and protesters chanted the despised dictator had "snatched" attention
for the showpiece event from South Korea.
A series of events including concerts, joint training exercises and sporting demonstrations
are planned around Olympics.
The North Korean delegation was led by popular female singer Hyon Song-wol who smiled and
waved to a crowd at the train station before the protest began.
She said: "Seeing the citizens here welcoming us, I feel we will be able to successfully
complete the concert."
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