On New Year's Eve Pyongyang presented the world with another unexpectedly pleasant. Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, which is considered to be unconventional and therefore unpredictable and dangerous country, suddenly stated in his New Year's address to the nation about the possibility of a dialogue with South Korea and allowed the participation of the North Korean team in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
The South Korean leadership immediately responded to this unexpected step and proposed holding on January 9 an inter-Korean high-level talk at the border crossing point of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone. And Pyongyang quickly agreed to this.
On January 3, Pyongyang was informed about the resumption of the operation of the inter-Korean communication channel in Panmunjom. Using this channel, the parties began to discuss the composition of delegations in the upcoming talks. However it is only through the exchange of fax messages.
«The successful launch of the Games will contribute to the establishment of stability not only on the Korean Peninsula, but throughout East Asia and around the world», said representative of the South Korean presidential administration Park Soo-hyun.
Approximately the same the head of the Republic of Korea, Moon Jae-in spoke about it. And even the American president himself, according to the South Korean media, said he fully supported the South Korean colleague and expressed the hope that this progress has been made could lead to favorable results.
But the North Korean leader actively developed «a peaceful offensive». The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim Jong-un said that it is necessary to create conditions for improving relations with South Korea. «There is no need to stir up the past, we need to improve relations between the North and the South and make a breakthrough in reunification», he said.
The message of the KCNA noted that it was not only about normalizing relations between Pyongyang and Seoul, but also about reconciliation and reunification of the nation.
And one more New Year's gift: Donald Trump responded positively to the emerging situation and said that in general he was ready even to have a telephone conversation with Kim Jong Un.
But there is a big breakthrough in this most complicated and almost hopeless Korean situation. And what a favorable background for solving a hopeless problem!
Washington and Seoul agreed to postpone joint military exercises during the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. And Moscow and Beijing also welcome this development. However at the same time they emphasize that this positive trend should be secured by specific agreements...But in all this there are little unpleasant details.
The North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the above-mentioned New Year's address to the nation nevertheless reported that the DPRK had completed the creation of national nuclear forces.
He remains convinced that only thanks to the presence nuclear deterrent forces the US can not start a war against the DPRK.
He informs the nation and the world community that North Korea is preparing for a new launch of the intercontinental ballistic missile, as well as for mass production of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
And in the last important statement he repeated the well-known from the time of Kim Il Sung postulate: the reconciliation of two countries is an internal affair of the Korean nation, in the implementation of which Pyongyang and Seoul should not seek outside help.
Donald Trump clearly declared: «We stand by a very firm position». «Kim Jong Un knows that I'm not joking. I'm not kidding, not a drop, not one percent, he understands this», the US leader underlined.
Weak reassuring notes with a big stretch can be found only in an CNN interview with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The head of US diplomacy said that the US continued to hold a position on the need to achieve full denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
«Complete denuclearization» is an extremely difficult task. This issue will require unhurried painstaking work of all interested parties, including Russia and China.
Today neither the US, nor South Korea, nor any other interested parties can give North Korea guarantees for its reliable security. And this is the most important question for Pyongyang.
Now it is advantageous for the DPRK to enter negotiations: behind its back there is a small, but nevertheless really nuclear missile potential, and negotiations pose a danger of a direct military clash with the United States. But in the course of the negotiations Pyongyang will invariably persistently seek to consolidate with its already well-mastered positions of reliable nuclear missile defense, even if it is an actual nuclear missile status, which is not recognized by the international community.
Experienced North Korean politicians understand that Washington's unpredictable behavior in the international arena, its irrepressible desire to impose, its will on other countries, its disdain for earlier agreements not only do not guarantee the security of the DPRK, they aggravate the situation around Korea.
It remains to be hoped that the negotiation process will begin, at least between the North and South of Korea, and that the leaders of both warring parties will show wisdom and restraint. But such attempts were made earlier, but did not lead to a sustainable peace.
