US, DPRK vie for center stage at PyeongChang Olympics

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The Winter Olympic Games, opening in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang on Friday, are likely to see a non-sporting competition between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States.

While the DPRK's participation draws global attention, US Vice President Mike Pence vowed to prevent Pyongyang from "hijacking" the games.

Pyongyang slammed Washington for undermining the process of inter-Korean reconciliation, but itself staged a military parade a day ahead of the Olympics.

US' suspicion of DPRK-ROK talks

Since Pyongyang and Seoul launched direct talks in January after DPRK leader Kim Jong Un said he was "open to dialogue" in his New Year speech, the US has maintained a skeptical attitude.

Following a year of escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula over the DPRK's ballistic missile and nuclear weapon program, Washington calls for "maximum pressure" on Pyongyang until it begins denuclearization.

Meanwhile, US media and critics warn that Kim's overture could drive a wedge between South Korea and the US.

After rounds of discussions, Pyongyang and Seoul have agreed that delegations of the two sides will march together at the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Games, and that they will form a unified women's hockey team; hundreds of DPRK artists will also perform in South Korea, with pop star Hyon Song Wol visiting performance venues in late January.

DPRK and ROK delegations shake hands at their meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom, January 2018. /VCG Photo

As the series of developments become the focus of the world, US media said the DPRK is "stealing the show."

"North Korea [the DPRK] is again stealing the show in pre-Olympic media coverage, although none of its 22 athletes is expected to win a medal at the Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea," a story by Hyung-Jin Kim of The Washington Post said on Tuesday.

The US vice president came to Japan and South Korea, trying to push the DPRK off the center stage. In Japan, Pence told reporters that the US "will not allow North Korean propaganda to hijack the message and imagery of the Olympic Games".

Washington "will continue to intensify our maximum pressure campaign" until the DPRK "takes concrete steps towards complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization", he stressed.

US Vice President Mike Pence (R, front) and his wife Karen Pence arrive at Osan military air base in Songtan, South Korea, February 8, 2018. /VCG Photo

Commenting on the US' negative attitude toward the rapprochement between the DPRK and South Korea, Guo Rui, a professor of international politics at Jilin University in northeast China, said the US does not want the situation on the Korean Peninsula to stabilize and normalize, because that would hamper its "Pivot to Asia" and "Indo-Pacific" strategies, from Washington's point of view.

"Of course, that wouldn't be helpful for the US to maintain its superiority and hegemony in the region, either," Guo wrote in an article on Haiwainet.cn.

US-DPRK interactions in South Korea?

Pence is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics on Friday night, so are senior DPRK officials, including the country's nominal head of state Kim Yong Nam and Kim Jong Un's younger sister Kim Yo Jong.

Kim Yo Jong, DPRK leader Kim Jong Un's younger sister, talks with South Korean officials upon her arrival at Incheon airport, west of Seoul, February 9, 2018. /VCG Photo

It is unclear whether the two sides will meet, or in what comes up if they do. Neither side said indicated a meeting, but Pence has not ruled out interactions.

"We have never begged for dialogue with the US nor in the future," the DPRK's official KCNA news agency said, citing Jo Yong Sam, a director general in its Foreign Ministry. "Explicitly speaking, we have no intention to meet with the US side during the stay in South Korea."

Pence appeared to leave the door open for talks.

"I haven't requested any meeting. But we'll see what happens," he said earlier this week.

What will happen during the opening ceremony is highly anticipated. Though the official seating arrangement is unknown, a story on The Guardian indicated that Pence and Kim Yo Jong could be seated "just meters apart."

Intercontinental ballistic missiles are seen at a military parade celebrating the 70th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, the DPRK, February 8, 2018. /VCG Photo

DPRK's mixed signals

While the DPRK stresses it is a peace-loving nation and appears to be enthusiastic about participating in the PyeongChang Games, the country has not stopped flexing its muscles. On Thursday, it held a military parade in Pyongyang to mark the 70th anniversary of the foundation of its armed forces, which reportedly featured a Hwasong-15 long-range missile.

Nevertheless, with about 50,000 people taking part, including 13,000 troops, the parade was shorter and smaller in scale than a major event last April.

Observers believe the DPRK was sending signals to both its domestic audience and the international community.

"By holding this parade, Kim Jong Un was able to appease the domestic audience to show the pride, celebrate the advances in its weapons program that the world saw last year, but also make a nod to the diplomatic sensitivities of the moment," Al Jazeera's Natasha Ghoneim said, underscoring the timing and the scale of the parade.

Wang Chong, a senior fellow from Chinese think tank Charhar Institute, told CGTN that Pyongyang was "sending mixed signals." The country wants to tell the world that it is a "peace-loving nation," but at the same time it does not want to "lose face" in front of its own people, he added.

The DPRK's show of strength was targeted at the US, whereas it reduced the scale of the parade to show South Korea some goodwill, Zhang Liangui, a Chinese expert in international strategies was quoted by Thepaper.cn as saying.

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