Japan Institute for National Fundamentals

　　　　　North Korea’s participation in the Winter Olympic Games, which begin on February 9 in Pyeongchang, South Korea, has been decided. The decision came as South Korea’s Moon Jae In regime took advantage of its position as the Winter Olympic host to push through its special favors for North Korea. A total of 22 North Korean athletes were allowed to compete in 10 events of three sports – ice hockey, skiing and skating. Excluding a figure skating pair, the athletes had not been qualified to participate in the Olympics. Japanese and other participants in the Games have criticized the decision as unfair.
　　　　　A North-South joint team for women’s ice hockey is to be organized, including 12 North Korean players. North Korean players who failed to get through the qualifying round were thus exceptionally allowed to take part in the Olympics, embarrassing the coach and members of the South Korean team which survived the elimination on its own. The Moon government came under fire in South Korea as well for its favor for the North.

Joint march without national flag coming under fire
　　　　　Particularly criticized in South Korea is a plan for South Korean athletes to march under a strange “unification flag,” instead of their national flag, together with North Korean athletes at the opening ceremony. South Korean conservative leader Cho Gab Je has criticized the Moon regime as follows:
　　　　　“A country may haul down its national flag only when it surrenders to enemy forces or when the country ceases to exist. Those who prohibited South Korean athletes from having their national flag at the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Olympics that South Korea is hosting should be suspected as traitors to the country. The prohibition should be interpreted as an attempt to lower the status of the Republic of Korea [South Korea] which achieved the world’s most excellent success in the 20th century to that of the North Korean regime representing a crime ring against human beings.”
　　　　　North Korea has clarified its purpose for its participation in the Pyeongchang Olympics through dictator Kim Jong Un’s New Year address for 2018.
　　　　　“As long as this unstable situation, which is neither wartime nor peacetime, persists, the North and the South cannot ensure the success of the scheduled events [Pyeongchang Olympics], nor can they sit face to face to have a sincere discussion over the issue of improving bilateral relations, nor will they advance straight ahead towards the goal of national reunification,” Kim said.
　　　　　The remark threatens to interrupt the Pyeogchang Olympics if Seoul continues to join in containing Pyongyang along with Washington.
　　　　　“The South Korean authorities should respond positively to our sincere efforts for a detente, instead of inducing the exacerbation of the situation by joining the United States in its reckless moves for a north-targeted nuclear war that threatens the destiny of the entire nation as well as peace and stability on this land,” Kim added.
　　　　　Kim thus called on South Korea not to join the United States in enhancing military pressure to stop North Korea’s nuclear missile development but to cooperate with the North in countering the United States.

Seoul reportedly rejects a U.S. submarine’s port call
　　　　　The Moon regime responded to Kim’s call and took a special measure to allow North Korea to participate in the Olympics. A South Korean newspaper reports that Seoul has rejected a U.S. nuclear submarine’s planned port call at Busan for the reason that Busan is close to the Olympic site. These actions by themselves represent a grave betrayal. We must strictly watch if the Moon regime would scale down joint military drills with the United States after the Olympics or provide economic aid to North Korea in violation of U.N. sanctions.

Tsutomu Nishioka is a member of the Planning Committee at the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals and Visiting Professor at Reitaku University.