[이슈분석] North Korea notified of non-participation in the Tokyo Olympics…

President Moon Jae-in’s policy toward North Korea, which attempted to promote the’peace process on the Korean peninsula’ using the Tokyo Olympics as a momentum for improving inter-Korean relations, faced a crisis of aground. This is when North Korea suddenly declared absent after a month after President Moon mentioned the Tokyo Olympics as a momentum for dialogue with North Korea in the March 1st commemoration address.

Opportunities for dramatic reconciliation in the four-party talks between the two Koreas, the US, and Japan have been halted, and it has been a long time since inter-Korean cooperation initiatives such as vaccine treatment and material support, which the government has promoted as part of the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, have ceased. In the midst of this, North Korea compared President Moon as a “American parrot” and mocked it. The peace process on the Korean peninsula lost its momentum and began to deteriorate.

On the 6th, the North Korean Ministry of Sports said, “The North Korean Olympic Committee participated in the 32nd Olympic Games at the general meeting to protect athletes from the global health crisis caused by a virulent virus infection. I decided not to discuss it,” he revealed.

This general meeting was held on the 25th of last month by video conference, and at the time North Korea reported that the general meeting was held, but such matters were not disclosed. It seems that the attendance was revealed after considering the recent successive meetings with the Korean-US diplomatic and defense ministers (2+2), the Korea-US-Japan security talks, and the Korea-China diplomatic ministers’ meetings. It is interpreted that the fact that the relationship between the two Koreas and North Korea and the United States has been stiffened, and that it is forming confrontational relations with Japan is also reflected.

On this day, an official from the Ministry of Unification met with reporters, “I hoped that the Tokyo Olympics would serve as an opportunity to advance peace on the Korean Peninsula and reconciliation and cooperation between the two Koreas, but we regret that this was not possible due to the coronavirus situation.” The government’s stance on finding an opportunity to advance peace on the Korean Peninsula and further dialogue and cooperation between the two Koreas remains unchanged,” he said.

During the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the government has regarded the Tokyo Olympics as an opportunity for four-party talks as it created a dramatic mode of reconciliation through efforts to mediate dialogue between North Korea and the US President Moon Jae-in said in his March 1 commemorative address, “The Tokyo Olympics, which will be held this year, may be an opportunity for dialogue between Korea and Japan, between South and North Korea, between North Korea and Japan, and between North Korea and the United States.”

The government is expected to promote the Beijing Winter Olympics in China, scheduled for February next year, as an opportunity for reconciliation between the two Koreas through sports exchanges, but it is unclear whether the Moon Jae-in administration will be able to secure a driving force for the next year’s term expiration.