The possibility that the inter-Korean dialogue could lead to direct talks between the United States and North Korea emerged over the past week after the North invited South Korean President Moon Jae-in to visit Pyongyang for a summit with its leader Kim Jong Un — and Vice U.S. President Mike Pence indicated in a media interview that Washington may be ready for direct talks with Pyongyang without preconditions. Talks between the U.S. and North Korea, if they ever materialize, might pave the way for defusing tensions in the Korean Peninsula over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. But the question is whether North Korea is willing to discuss giving up its nuclear and missile programs — which it has steadfastly refused to do so far.
If Kim's regime has no such intentions, then any such talks risk ending up being a dialogue for dialogue's sake, which would not serve the international community's goal of denuclearizing North Korea. The prospect of a Moon-Kim summit must also not be used by North Korea as a means of ending its isolation under international sanctions or fending off possible U.S. military strikes by improving relations with the South.
North Korea's "charm offensive" at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics is obviously intended to disrupt the cooperation among the United States, South Korea and Japan in dealing with Pyongyang. The Japanese, U.S. and South Korean governments need to cautiously assess the North's intensions and closely coordinate their responses to make sure that future interactions with North Korea will be aimed at eliminating its nuclear and missile threats.