How do we get from Pyeongchang to peace?
After some two years of rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the reprieve brought by the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in the Republic of Korea is more than welcome. However, complacency is not an option.
After years of accelerated missile development, which culminated in successful tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles and, as it claims, a hydrogen bomb last year, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear program has become not only a threat to its neighbors, but also to the United States. The response of US President Donald Trump's administration - which has included unprecedented saber-rattling-has escalated tensions further.
Yet, on Jan 1, DPRK leader Kim Jong-un called for better relations with the Republic of Korea, before agreeing to participate in the Olympics. What accounts for Kim's sudden extending of an olive branch to the ROK?
