Seoul, South Korea
But the growing divide between Seoul and Washington over how to deal with North Korea was apparent even amid the niceties of pre-dinner remarks. South Korean President Moon Jae-in talked about engagement, while Ivanka Trump reiterated the need for “maximum pressure.”
And with a high-level North Korean delegation arriving in the South on Sunday to attend the closing of the Games, the ceremony will present another diplomatic minefield for the South Korean hosts as they try to push forward with a North Korean thaw without antagonizing their U.S. allies.
Both the White House and South Korea’s presidential Blue House will be particularly eager to avoid a repeat of the opening ceremony, when Vice President Mike Pence assiduously avoided acknowledging the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, even though she was seated almost directly behind him.
The South Korean press dubbed Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, the “Ivanka Trump of North Korea” because of her powerful family connections and ability to turn on the charm.
But with Trump now in South Korea, the Blue House said that there were no plans for a meeting or even an encounter between the U.S. and North Korean delegations while they overlap in PyeongChang.
While welcoming Trump to Seoul, Moon said that her father’s active support and attention has been a “very important factor” in the success of the Olympics — which Moon has touted as the “Peace Games.”
“North Korea’s participation in the Winter Olympic Games has served as an opportunity for us to engage in active discussions between the two Koreas, and this has led to lowering of tensions on the peninsula and an improvement in inter-Korean relations,” Moon said in remarks before dinner in a traditional Korean house on the presidential compound.
“I also believe that such developments are thanks to President Donald Trump’s strong support for inter-Korean dialogue, and I would like to express my deep appreciation on this point, as well,” he said.
When the North Korean delegation arrived in Seoul before the opening ceremony, Kim Yo Jong brought a letter from her brother inviting Moon to a summit in Pyongyang.
Moon, who campaigned last year on a pledge to go to North Korea to try to break the standoff, said he wanted to work toward creating the “right conditions” for a summit.
Unusually, Moon has not spoken to President Trump since the inter-Korean meetings were held around the opening ceremony. However, Trump did speak by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after the latter, who has a frosty relationship with Moon, attended the ceremonies. Their call lasted 76 minutes.
Ivanka Trump clearly came armed with the administration’s message on North Korea.
While saying that she was in South Korea “to reaffirm our bonds of friendship and partnership,” Trump also said she wanted to “reaffirm our commitment to our maximum-pressure campaign to ensure that the Korean Peninsula is denuclearized.”