US Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday Washington would soon unveil its &quot;toughest sanctions ever&quot; on North Korea, adding that the regime in Pyongyang would not be allowed to &quot;hijack&quot; the upcoming Olympics.

Speaking in Japan before attending the opening ceremony of the Winter Games in South Korea, Pence pledged that Washington would &quot;intensify its maximum pressure campaign&quot; on the North, working with Tokyo.

&quot;I&#39;m announcing today that the United States will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever,&quot; he said, without giving further details.

Pence&#39;s three-day visit to Japan came as Washington seeks to bolster ties with its allies in the region and maintain pressure on the regime in Pyongyang despite a recent thaw on the peninsula.

&quot;All options are on the table and the US has deployed some of our most advanced military assets to Japan and the wider region to protect our homeland and our allies and we will continue to,&quot; vowed Pence.

To highlight what Washington calls the regime&#39;s human rights &quot;abuses&quot;, the vice president will attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Olympics with the father of the late former North Korea prisoner Otto Warmbier.

The US and North Korea have been locked in a fierce war of words.

US President Donald Trump has mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un as &quot;rocket man&quot; and the young dictator has threatened to rain nuclear destruction on the United States.&nbsp;

But Kim has taken a more conciliatory tone in 2018, calling for detente with the South Koreans and accepting an invitation for his country to participate in what is being billed as the &quot;peace Olympics.&quot;

The two Koreas held a rare high-level meeting last month and the North&#39;s ceremonial head of state is due to arrive Friday, the highest-ranking Pyongyang official ever to visit the South.

Nevertheless, the peninsula remains tense, with the North slamming anti-Pyongyang activists who protested against its participation as a &quot;spasm of psychopaths.&quot;

For his part, Abe said that Japan and the US had &quot;confirmed... that we can never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea.&quot;

Abe added that the allies would urge other countries not to be &quot;captivated by the charm offensive of North Korea.&quot;En route to Japan, Pence declined to rule out a meeting with the North Korean delegation also attending the opening ceremony, offering the faintest hope of a diplomatic breakthrough.

&quot;I have not requested a meeting, but we&#39;ll see what happens,&quot; Pence said during a stop in Alaska.

However, he appeared to take a tougher line in Tokyo, saying that North Korea must not be allowed to &quot;hijack the message and imagery of the Olympic Games.&quot;

&quot;We will not allow North Korea to hide behind the Olympic banner the reality that they enslave their people and threaten the wider region,&quot; he said.

It is not clear how long any respite in tensions will last after the Games, especially when the United States and South Korea resume their delayed joint annual military exercises, a perennial irritant for Pyongyang.

North Korea&#39;s official KCNA news agency warned on Tuesday the resumption of the drills will throw the Korean peninsula back to &quot;the grim phase of catastrophe&quot;.

Earlier Wednesday, Pence inspected Japan&#39;s missile defence system and stressed the &quot;unwavering&quot; commitment to what he called a &quot;critical&quot; alliance.

He will address troops at a US air base outside Tokyo on Thursday before heading on to South Korea.

Pence pledged that Washington would 'intensify its maximum pressure campaign' on the North, working with Tokyo

US Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday Washington would soon unveil its "toughest sanctions ever" on North Korea, adding that the regime in Pyongyang would not be allowed to "hijack" the upcoming Olympics. Speaking in Japan before attending the opening ceremony of the Winter Games in South Korea, Pence pledged that Washington would "intensify its maximum pressure campaign" on the North, working with Tokyo. "I'm announcing today that the United States will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever," he said, without giving further details. Pence's three-day visit to Japan came as Washington seeks to bolster ties with its allies in the region and maintain pressure on the regime in Pyongyang despite a recent thaw on the peninsula. "All options are on the table and the US has deployed some of our most advanced military assets to Japan and the wider region to protect our homeland and our allies and we will continue to," vowed Pence. To highlight what Washington calls the regime's human rights "abuses", the vice president will attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Olympics with the father of the late former North Korea prisoner Otto Warmbier. The US and North Korea have been locked in a fierce war of words. US President Donald Trump has mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un as "rocket man" and the young dictator has threatened to rain nuclear destruction on the United States. But Kim has taken a more conciliatory tone in 2018, calling for detente with the South Koreans and accepting an invitation for his country to participate in what is being billed as the "peace Olympics." The two Koreas held a rare high-level meeting last month and the North's ceremonial head of state is due to arrive Friday, the highest-ranking Pyongyang official ever to visit the South. Nevertheless, the peninsula remains tense, with the North slamming anti-Pyongyang activists who protested against its participation as a "spasm of psychopaths." For his part, Abe said that Japan and the US had "confirmed... that we can never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea." Abe added that the allies would urge other countries not to be "captivated by the charm offensive of North Korea."En route to Japan, Pence declined to rule out a meeting with the North Korean delegation also attending the opening ceremony, offering the faintest hope of a diplomatic breakthrough. "I have not requested a meeting, but we'll see what happens," Pence said during a stop in Alaska. However, he appeared to take a tougher line in Tokyo, saying that North Korea must not be allowed to "hijack the message and imagery of the Olympic Games." "We will not allow North Korea to hide behind the Olympic banner the reality that they enslave their people and threaten the wider region," he said. It is not clear how long any respite in tensions will last after the Games, especially when the United States and South Korea resume their delayed joint annual military exercises, a perennial irritant for Pyongyang. North Korea's official KCNA news agency warned on Tuesday the resumption of the drills will throw the Korean peninsula back to "the grim phase of catastrophe". Earlier Wednesday, Pence inspected Japan's missile defence system and stressed the "unwavering" commitment to what he called a "critical" alliance. He will address troops at a US air base outside Tokyo on Thursday before heading on to South Korea.

Pence announces 'toughest' US sanctions on North Korea

Moscow has begun to send North Korean workers home as required by the UN Security Council resolution, the Russian envoy in Pyongyang said Wednesday, calling the ban a &quot;blow&quot; to the country&#39;s economy.

&quot;The ban on workers from North Korea will be a blow to the Russian economy but we scrupulously adhere the UN SC decision. Many governors have already started to deport (North Koreans),&quot; said the Russian Ambassador in Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora, RIA Novosti reported.

Asked to comment on the issue, the Russian foreign ministry&#39;s press-service said that Moscow strictly adheres to the resolution, which &quot;presumes repatriation of all DPRK migrant labourers in 24 months since its adoption&quot;.

&quot;Russia is acting in accordance with this document,&quot; it said, without confirming that some workers are being sent back ahead of the deadline.

&quot;DPRK citizens who are legally in our country will continue working in Russia until the expiry of the term imposed by the UN SC resolution.&quot;

The new sanctions boost against North Korea was passed in December and stipulated that all North Koreans working abroad should be sent back by the end of 2019.

Matsegora said about 35,000 North Korean workers were labouring in Russia, mostly in construction, agriculture and fisheries.&nbsp;

He said they earn wages comparable with Russian citizens and receive 40-50 percent of their salary, while the rest goes to the North Korean government.

The new sanctions boost against North Korea was passed by the UN in December and stipulated that all North Koreans working abroad should be sent back by the end of 2019

Moscow has begun to send North Korean workers home as required by the UN Security Council resolution, the Russian envoy in Pyongyang said Wednesday, calling the ban a "blow" to the country's economy. "The ban on workers from North Korea will be a blow to the Russian economy but we scrupulously adhere the UN SC decision. Many governors have already started to deport (North Koreans)," said the Russian Ambassador in Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora, RIA Novosti reported. Asked to comment on the issue, the Russian foreign ministry's press-service said that Moscow strictly adheres to the resolution, which "presumes repatriation of all DPRK migrant labourers in 24 months since its adoption". "Russia is acting in accordance with this document," it said, without confirming that some workers are being sent back ahead of the deadline. "DPRK citizens who are legally in our country will continue working in Russia until the expiry of the term imposed by the UN SC resolution." The new sanctions boost against North Korea was passed in December and stipulated that all North Koreans working abroad should be sent back by the end of 2019. Matsegora said about 35,000 North Korean workers were labouring in Russia, mostly in construction, agriculture and fisheries. He said they earn wages comparable with Russian citizens and receive 40-50 percent of their salary, while the rest goes to the North Korean government.

Russia sending back North Korean workers: Envoy

North Korea accused the United States on Tuesday of seeking to aggravate the situation on the divided Korean peninsula by &quot;deploying large nuclear assets&quot; nearby and lay the ground for a possible pre-emptive strike against it.

&quot;In view of the nature and scale of US&nbsp;military reinforcements, they are designed to make a pre-emptive strike against the DPRK,&quot; North Korean diplomat Ju Yong Chol told the UN sponsored Conference on Disarmament, referring to his country&#39;s official name the Democratic People&#39;s Republic of Korea.

&quot;US officials including the defense secretary and the CIA director repeatedly talked about DPRK nuclear and missile threat to justify their argument for a military option and a new concept of a so-called &#39;bloody nose&#39;, a limited pre-emptive strike on the DPRK is under consideration within the US&nbsp;administration,&quot; Ju said.

North Korea accused the United States on Tuesday of seeking to aggravate the situation on the divided Korean peninsula by "deploying large nuclear assets" nearby and lay the ground for a possible pre-emptive strike against it

North Korea accused the United States on Tuesday of seeking to aggravate the situation on the divided Korean peninsula by "deploying large nuclear assets" nearby and lay the ground for a possible pre-emptive strike against it. "In view of the nature and scale of US military reinforcements, they are designed to make a pre-emptive strike against the DPRK," North Korean diplomat Ju Yong Chol told the UN sponsored Conference on Disarmament, referring to his country's official name the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "US officials including the defense secretary and the CIA director repeatedly talked about DPRK nuclear and missile threat to justify their argument for a military option and a new concept of a so-called 'bloody nose', a limited pre-emptive strike on the DPRK is under consideration within the US administration," Ju said.

North Korea says US considering limited pre-emptive strike

Hundreds of angry South Koreans protested Tuesday as a ship from North Korea carrying around 120 performers bound for the Olympics docked at the port of Donghae City.

Some were carrying pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un with a huge X across his face while others crumpled the images and stamped them underfoot.

&quot;We are at a state of war and we are inviting the prostitutes of our enemy,&quot; one of the protesters said as the North Korean ship &#39;Mangyongbon 92&#39; docked at Mukho port

Earlier the protesters, carrying South Korean flags, marched around the port, chanting into amplified speakers: &quot;We oppose Pyongyang Olympics!&quot;&nbsp;

&quot;Why can&#39;t we carry our own flag at the opening ceremony -- because it&#39;s Pyongyang Olympics!&quot; a protester who came from Incheon told AFP.

North and South Korea will march as a unified team under a neutral Korean peninsula flag at the opening ceremony of the Olympics on Friday.

Protesters believe North Korea has been allowed to hijack the Pyeongchang Games, and refer to them instead as the Pyongyang Olympics after the North Korean capital.

The Olympics have triggered an apparent rapprochement on the divided peninsula, where tensions have been high over the nuclear-armed North&#39;s weapons ambitions.

In a rare high-level meeting last month, the two Koreas agreed that North Korean athletes, cheerleaders, artistic troupes and other delegates would attend the Games beginning in the South&#39;s ski resort of Pyeongchang on Friday.

The troupe were seen off on their journey to the South on Monday from a train station in Pyongyang by officials including supreme leader Kim Jong-Un&#39;s sister, Yo-Jong, smiling broadly and wearing a black coat and grey fur scarf.

The North&#39;s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the art troupe, led by Hyon Song-Wol, head of the Samjiyon Orchestra, would hold a &quot;congratulatory performance&quot; for the Games in South Korea.

The orchestra will hold two performances at the Gangneung Art Centre on the eve of the opening ceremony of the February 9-25 Pyeongchang Olympics and at the National Theatre of Korea in Seoul on February 11.

&nbsp;

Amid all the chaos, North and South Korea will march as an unified team under a neutral Korean peninsula flag at the opening ceremony of the Olympics on Friday

Hundreds of angry South Koreans protested Tuesday as a ship from North Korea carrying around 120 performers bound for the Olympics docked at the port of Donghae City. Some were carrying pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un with a huge X across his face while others crumpled the images and stamped them underfoot. "We are at a state of war and we are inviting the prostitutes of our enemy," one of the protesters said as the North Korean ship 'Mangyongbon 92' docked at Mukho port Earlier the protesters, carrying South Korean flags, marched around the port, chanting into amplified speakers: "We oppose Pyongyang Olympics!" "Why can't we carry our own flag at the opening ceremony -- because it's Pyongyang Olympics!" a protester who came from Incheon told AFP. North and South Korea will march as a unified team under a neutral Korean peninsula flag at the opening ceremony of the Olympics on Friday. Protesters believe North Korea has been allowed to hijack the Pyeongchang Games, and refer to them instead as the Pyongyang Olympics after the North Korean capital. The Olympics have triggered an apparent rapprochement on the divided peninsula, where tensions have been high over the nuclear-armed North's weapons ambitions. In a rare high-level meeting last month, the two Koreas agreed that North Korean athletes, cheerleaders, artistic troupes and other delegates would attend the Games beginning in the South's ski resort of Pyeongchang on Friday. The troupe were seen off on their journey to the South on Monday from a train station in Pyongyang by officials including supreme leader Kim Jong-Un's sister, Yo-Jong, smiling broadly and wearing a black coat and grey fur scarf. The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the art troupe, led by Hyon Song-Wol, head of the Samjiyon Orchestra, would hold a "congratulatory performance" for the Games in South Korea. The orchestra will hold two performances at the Gangneung Art Centre on the eve of the opening ceremony of the February 9-25 Pyeongchang Olympics and at the National Theatre of Korea in Seoul on February 11.

Winter Olympics: North Korean art troupe hit by protests in South

With all the ethical and political problems facing the Olympics, do they still matter?

As someone who proudly wears his Olympic heart on his sleeve &mdash; I competed in the 1964 Games in Tokyo and have been involved in a variety of roles ever since &mdash; I get asked that question all the time, especially when another Games approach. And my answer is still in the affirmative.

While circumstances change, and I&rsquo;d like to think I make a fresh calculation each time, I still believe the Olympics contribute a net benefit to humanity. I&rsquo;m excited about the forthcoming Winter Olympic and Winter Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

For those of us who pursue and watch sports, it&rsquo;s the only forum where the entire world gets to compete on a multi-sport basis. While it&rsquo;s the polar countries that excel, the Winter Olympics and Paralympics will attract competitors from an estimated 90 national communities, representing more than two-thirds of the world&rsquo;s population.

In an increasingly privatized sports place, with a hardening monoculture of fewer and fewer sports and competitors, the Olympics provide the greatest range of national and regional accessibility.

Provides support, visibility

For Canadians, it&rsquo;s the primary place where athletes in the rarely publicized but culturally important sports of skiing, skating, luge, skeleton and bobsled have recognized opportunities &mdash; and with few exceptions, the only time Canadian women and para-athletes get any significant support and visibility.

If it wasn&rsquo;t for the Olympics to stimulate government investment in women&rsquo;s and para sports and the worldwide coverage to attract advertisers, women and para-athletes would be even more underfunded and invisible in mainstream sports coverage than they are now.

So for those who believe in an equitable, broadly based and accessible sports system, the Olympics provide a very important incentive &mdash;and even legitimization.

It&rsquo;s also fantastic sport, and gives us a chance to see remarkable athletes from all across Canada go up against the best from other countries, and represent Canada to the world. I&rsquo;ll be glued to my television.

<figure class="align-right zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204333/original/file-20180131-157470-1w1c2qw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204333/original/file-20180131-157470-1w1c2qw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" /></a>

<figcaption>
Author and former Olympian Bruce Kidd, seen here in a 1963 race in Philadelphia. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP

What&rsquo;s more, the Olympics make a genuine effort to affirm and encourage humanitarian international and intercultural education and exchange &mdash; no mean contribution in this increasingly war-torn, nativist and xenophobic world.
</figcaption>
</figure>

Bringing people together

In my long experience, this is real and sets the tone for the millions of sporting exchanges between people of widely different backgrounds that occur around the world throughout the year.

The joint North and South Korean team that will march and compete together in Pyeongchang, and the resumption of communication that it has initiated, is just one example where the Olympics and international sport have brought bitterly divided people into the same room for peaceful exchange.

The Olympics contribute significantly to the development of sports around the world, especially among the poorest countries, distributing a big share of its television revenue &mdash; US$509 million from 2017-20.

One priority is sport for refugees. The very first Refugee Olympic Team, made up of athletes from refugee camps in four different countries, competed in Rio in 2016. Many Olympic athletes, such as Canada&rsquo;s Rosie MacLennan, have been inspired by their experiences to contribute to sport for development across the Global South.

To be sure, the Olympics face a host of daunting challenges, including the ginormous costs of staging games, corruption in governance, human rights abuses and doping.

<figure class="align-left zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204334/original/file-20180131-157491-1w07cdf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204334/original/file-20180131-157491-1w07cdf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" /></a>

<figcaption>
Calgary is considering a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, which would return the Games to the Prairies city for the first time since 1988. Here figure skater Brian Orser carries the Canadian flag at opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Calgary. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson)
</figcaption>
</figure>

The issues are so formidable that fewer and fewer cities are interested in hosting them, and in some liberal-democratic countries, voters have turned back bids. It remains to be seen whether Calgary will actually go ahead with plans <a href="http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Recreation/Pages/Calgary-2026-Olympic-bid/Olympics-Bid-2026.aspx">to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics</a>.

Addressing many challenges

But I would also say the Olympic leadership is preoccupied with addressing these challenges. One solution to rising costs is to use existing facilities as much as possible, spread out new facilities, placing them where they are most needed as Toronto did for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games, and reduce seating for spectators, recognizing that most of the world watches on television. The Olympics vigorously tries to prevent and punish doping, as the current spat with Russia readily indicates.

While the Olympics have introduced important reforms in recent years, including transparent financial accounting and an affirmation against discrimination based on an athlete&rsquo;s sexual orientation, it&rsquo;s not easy to introduce and implement progressive change in way that keeps the entire world together.

I am enraged by the Russians&rsquo; state-directed doping in Sochi and support Canadian Olympic leaders who call for them to be banned from Pyeongchang. Yet I have European friends who fear Russian isolation and applaud IOC president Thomas Bach&rsquo;s diplomatic gymnastics to balance sanctions and representation.

A big-tent approach requires a low threshold if you want everyone there. If we only competed with countries that shared our values, we would have very few competitors indeed. But it makes the world of Olympic sports very difficult to govern.

I&rsquo;m quite happy if people continue to be critical of Olympic practices or blind spots &mdash; I&rsquo;m critical of some of them too &mdash; but to give up on the project because the international sports world is not perfect would be really short-sighted. It would also deny Canadians an opportunity to participate in, and contribute to, a humanitarian movement that&rsquo;s still very important.

&nbsp;

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" rel="nofollow" target="blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-the-olympics-still-matter-90215" rel="nofollow" target="blank">original article</a>.

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;&nbsp;

In an increasingly privatised sports place, with a hardening monoculture of fewer and fewer sports and competitors, the Olympics provide the greatest range of national and regional accessibility.

With all the ethical and political problems facing the Olympics, do they still matter? As someone who proudly wears his Olympic heart on his sleeve — I competed in the 1964 Games in Tokyo and have been involved in a variety of roles ever since — I get asked that question all the time, especially when another Games approach. And my answer is still in the affirmative. While circumstances change, and I’d like to think I make a fresh calculation each time, I still believe the Olympics contribute a net benefit to humanity. I’m excited about the forthcoming Winter Olympic and Winter Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. For those of us who pursue and watch sports, it’s the only forum where the entire world gets to compete on a multi-sport basis. While it’s the polar countries that excel, the Winter Olympics and Paralympics will attract competitors from an estimated 90 national communities, representing more than two-thirds of the world’s population. In an increasingly privatized sports place, with a hardening monoculture of fewer and fewer sports and competitors, the Olympics provide the greatest range of national and regional accessibility. Provides support, visibility For Canadians, it’s the primary place where athletes in the rarely publicized but culturally important sports of skiing, skating, luge, skeleton and bobsled have recognized opportunities — and with few exceptions, the only time Canadian women and para-athletes get any significant support and visibility. If it wasn’t for the Olympics to stimulate government investment in women’s and para sports and the worldwide coverage to attract advertisers, women and para-athletes would be even more underfunded and invisible in mainstream sports coverage than they are now. So for those who believe in an equitable, broadly based and accessible sports system, the Olympics provide a very important incentive —and even legitimization. It’s also fantastic sport, and gives us a chance to see remarkable athletes from all across Canada go up against the best from other countries, and represent Canada to the world. I’ll be glued to my television. Author and former Olympian Bruce Kidd, seen here in a 1963 race in Philadelphia. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP What’s more, the Olympics make a genuine effort to affirm and encourage humanitarian international and intercultural education and exchange — no mean contribution in this increasingly war-torn, nativist and xenophobic world. Bringing people together In my long experience, this is real and sets the tone for the millions of sporting exchanges between people of widely different backgrounds that occur around the world throughout the year. The joint North and South Korean team that will march and compete together in Pyeongchang, and the resumption of communication that it has initiated, is just one example where the Olympics and international sport have brought bitterly divided people into the same room for peaceful exchange. The Olympics contribute significantly to the development of sports around the world, especially among the poorest countries, distributing a big share of its television revenue — US$509 million from 2017-20. One priority is sport for refugees. The very first Refugee Olympic Team, made up of athletes from refugee camps in four different countries, competed in Rio in 2016. Many Olympic athletes, such as Canada’s Rosie MacLennan, have been inspired by their experiences to contribute to sport for development across the Global South. To be sure, the Olympics face a host of daunting challenges, including the ginormous costs of staging games, corruption in governance, human rights abuses and doping. Calgary is considering a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, which would return the Games to the Prairies city for the first time since 1988. Here figure skater Brian Orser carries the Canadian flag at opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Calgary. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson) The issues are so formidable that fewer and fewer cities are interested in hosting them, and in some liberal-democratic countries, voters have turned back bids. It remains to be seen whether Calgary will actually go ahead with plans to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Addressing many challenges But I would also say the Olympic leadership is preoccupied with addressing these challenges. One solution to rising costs is to use existing facilities as much as possible, spread out new facilities, placing them where they are most needed as Toronto did for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games, and reduce seating for spectators, recognizing that most of the world watches on television. The Olympics vigorously tries to prevent and punish doping, as the current spat with Russia readily indicates. While the Olympics have introduced important reforms in recent years, including transparent financial accounting and an affirmation against discrimination based on an athlete’s sexual orientation, it’s not easy to introduce and implement progressive change in way that keeps the entire world together. I am enraged by the Russians’ state-directed doping in Sochi and support Canadian Olympic leaders who call for them to be banned from Pyeongchang. Yet I have European friends who fear Russian isolation and applaud IOC president Thomas Bach’s diplomatic gymnastics to balance sanctions and representation. A big-tent approach requires a low threshold if you want everyone there. If we only competed with countries that shared our values, we would have very few competitors indeed. But it makes the world of Olympic sports very difficult to govern. I’m quite happy if people continue to be critical of Olympic practices or blind spots — I’m critical of some of them too — but to give up on the project because the international sports world is not perfect would be really short-sighted. It would also deny Canadians an opportunity to participate in, and contribute to, a humanitarian movement that’s still very important. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Do the Olympics still matter?

Olympics chief Thomas Bach on Monday said the Pyeongchang Winter Games brought &quot;real hope&quot; to the divided Korean peninsula and conceded there was no &quot;Plan B&quot; even when nuclear tensions put them under threat.

Bach was speaking four days ahead of the opening of the Games, which received a major boost when isolated North Korea ended months of bellicose posturing by agreeing to send a contingent of athletes.

&quot;The Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018 have allowed another new beginning on the Korean peninsula,&quot; Bach told delegates at the opening ceremony for this week&#39;s International Olympic Committee (IOC) session.&nbsp;

&quot;They have opened the door for a peaceful dialogue between the Republic of Korea (South) and the Democratic People&#39;s Republic of Korea (North).

&quot;The Olympic spirit has brought two sides together that for too long were divided by mistrust and animosity.&nbsp;

&quot;The Olympic spirit has brought real hope for a brighter future for everyone on the Korean peninsula.&quot;

Bach said it had been a &quot;long and difficult journey&quot; to organise an Olympics in Korea, whose two sides are divided by a heavily fortified border -- just 30 miles (50 kilometres) from the Games site -- and remain technically at war.

Officials from France, Germany and Austria all expressed concerns about sending athletes as tensions spiralled last year, when North Korea fired a series of missile tests and exchanged threats of war with the United States.

But Bach said: &quot;In all the conversations we had, the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018 were never put in doubt. On the contrary, we could always feel support.&quot;

&quot;Despite the sometimes worrying political circumstances, we were always standing at the side of our Korean hosts and never talked of a Plan B,&quot; he added.

&#39;Impossible dream&#39;

South Korean President Moon Jae-In has long argued for engagement to bring the North to the negotiating table over its nuclear ambitions.

But not all of his countrymen agree and there is a public perception that Moon&#39;s administration made too many concessions to the North to secure its participation at the Olympics.&nbsp;

Chiming with Bach, Moon said: &quot;Something truly wonderful is taking place in the divided and war-torn nation... throughout the world the message of peace is echoing.&quot;

&quot;One or two months ago, many countries were concerned with the safety of the Pyeongchang Olympic Games. North Korea&#39;s participating in the Games and a unified team under the banner of peace seemed like an impossible dream then,&quot; he added.

North Korea is sending 22 athletes to Pyeongchang, along with a large number of officials and an all-female cheer squad.

A unified Korean women&#39;s ice hockey team, whose squad includes 12 players from the North, on Sunday made its debut ahead of the Games, losing 3-1 to Sweden in a practice match.

The team has proved polarising in South Korea, where it has been blamed for a sudden drop in Moon&#39;s approval ratings.

While enthusiastic supporters cheered on the joint team, protesters chanting &quot;Pyongyang Olympics!&quot; also gathered outside, stamping on a picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and ripping up the blue-and-white Korean unification flag.

&nbsp;

Bach said it had been a "long and difficult journey" to organise an Olympics in Korea, whose two sides are divided and remain technically at war

Olympics chief Thomas Bach on Monday said the Pyeongchang Winter Games brought "real hope" to the divided Korean peninsula and conceded there was no "Plan B" even when nuclear tensions put them under threat. Bach was speaking four days ahead of the opening of the Games, which received a major boost when isolated North Korea ended months of bellicose posturing by agreeing to send a contingent of athletes. "The Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018 have allowed another new beginning on the Korean peninsula," Bach told delegates at the opening ceremony for this week's International Olympic Committee (IOC) session. "They have opened the door for a peaceful dialogue between the Republic of Korea (South) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North). "The Olympic spirit has brought two sides together that for too long were divided by mistrust and animosity. "The Olympic spirit has brought real hope for a brighter future for everyone on the Korean peninsula." Bach said it had been a "long and difficult journey" to organise an Olympics in Korea, whose two sides are divided by a heavily fortified border -- just 30 miles (50 kilometres) from the Games site -- and remain technically at war. Officials from France, Germany and Austria all expressed concerns about sending athletes as tensions spiralled last year, when North Korea fired a series of missile tests and exchanged threats of war with the United States. But Bach said: "In all the conversations we had, the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018 were never put in doubt. On the contrary, we could always feel support." "Despite the sometimes worrying political circumstances, we were always standing at the side of our Korean hosts and never talked of a Plan B," he added. 'Impossible dream' South Korean President Moon Jae-In has long argued for engagement to bring the North to the negotiating table over its nuclear ambitions. But not all of his countrymen agree and there is a public perception that Moon's administration made too many concessions to the North to secure its participation at the Olympics. Chiming with Bach, Moon said: "Something truly wonderful is taking place in the divided and war-torn nation... throughout the world the message of peace is echoing." "One or two months ago, many countries were concerned with the safety of the Pyeongchang Olympic Games. North Korea's participating in the Games and a unified team under the banner of peace seemed like an impossible dream then," he added. North Korea is sending 22 athletes to Pyeongchang, along with a large number of officials and an all-female cheer squad. A unified Korean women's ice hockey team, whose squad includes 12 players from the North, on Sunday made its debut ahead of the Games, losing 3-1 to Sweden in a practice match. The team has proved polarising in South Korea, where it has been blamed for a sudden drop in Moon's approval ratings. While enthusiastic supporters cheered on the joint team, protesters chanting "Pyongyang Olympics!" also gathered outside, stamping on a picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and ripping up the blue-and-white Korean unification flag.

Pyeongchang Olympics brings 'real hope' to divided Koreas, says Bach

North Korea on Sunday slammed United States President Donald Trump&#39;s recent State of the Union (SOTU) address as &quot;heights of arrogance&quot; and &quot;arbitrariness&quot;, according to its state media.

A North Korean ministry spokesperson said that it would deter Trump&#39;s &quot;sinister intention&quot; to do something about its regime, the Yonhap news agency reported.

&quot;Trump described last year as a year fully recorded with incredible progress and extraordinary success,&quot; the agency quoted spokesman as saying. &quot;This is indeed the height of Trump-style arrogance, arbitrariness and self-conceit,&quot; the spokesperson said in a statement.

&quot;The whole world is deeply concerned, seeing as an omen of new disaster the address of Trump who asserted &#39;America First&#39; and &#39;unmatched power&#39; based on nuclear weapons while forcing other countries to submit themselves to the US&nbsp;chauvinistic interest,&quot; the statement further read.

North Korea criticised Trump for &quot;revealing hostility&quot; toward the country and reasserted that it would defend itself and deter the threat with its &quot;nuclear force&quot;.

&quot;Our self-reliant defence capability with the nuclear force as its backbone will, however, completely deter Trump and his lackeys from showing off on the Korean peninsula,&quot; the statement continued.

In his first SOTU address on Wednesday, Trump took a swipe on North Korea as he underscored the &quot;cruel dictatorship&quot; in the reclusive country.

United States President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in spoke over the phone on Friday and agreed to address the human rights violations in North Korea.

Trump met with a group of North Korean defectors at the Oval Office in White House on Friday and discussed ways to end the nuclear programme of North Korea and highlighted the human right abuses of the country as well.

The US and North Korea have long been engaged in back-and-forth barbs over the latter&#39;s threat of a nuclear attack.

Trump threatened to rain &quot;fire and fury&quot; on North Korea and also called Kim Jong-un as &quot;Little Rocket Man&quot;, while North Korea denounced Trump as a &quot;mentally deranged US dotard.&nbsp;

A North Korean ministry spokesperson said that it would deter Trump's 'sinister intention' to do something about its regime, the Yonhap news agency reported

North Korea on Sunday slammed United States President Donald Trump's recent State of the Union (SOTU) address as "heights of arrogance" and "arbitrariness", according to its state media. A North Korean ministry spokesperson said that it would deter Trump's "sinister intention" to do something about its regime, the Yonhap news agency reported. "Trump described last year as a year fully recorded with incredible progress and extraordinary success," the agency quoted spokesman as saying. "This is indeed the height of Trump-style arrogance, arbitrariness and self-conceit," the spokesperson said in a statement. "The whole world is deeply concerned, seeing as an omen of new disaster the address of Trump who asserted 'America First' and 'unmatched power' based on nuclear weapons while forcing other countries to submit themselves to the US chauvinistic interest," the statement further read. North Korea criticised Trump for "revealing hostility" toward the country and reasserted that it would defend itself and deter the threat with its "nuclear force". "Our self-reliant defence capability with the nuclear force as its backbone will, however, completely deter Trump and his lackeys from showing off on the Korean peninsula," the statement continued. In his first SOTU address on Wednesday, Trump took a swipe on North Korea as he underscored the "cruel dictatorship" in the reclusive country. United States President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in spoke over the phone on Friday and agreed to address the human rights violations in North Korea. Trump met with a group of North Korean defectors at the Oval Office in White House on Friday and discussed ways to end the nuclear programme of North Korea and highlighted the human right abuses of the country as well. The US and North Korea have long been engaged in back-and-forth barbs over the latter's threat of a nuclear attack. Trump threatened to rain "fire and fury" on North Korea and also called Kim Jong-un as "Little Rocket Man", while North Korea denounced Trump as a "mentally deranged US dotard.

North Korea slams Trump address as 'heights of arrogance'

North Korea violated United Nations sanctions to earn nearly $200 million in 2017 from banned commodity exports, according to a confidential report by independent UN&nbsp;monitors, which also accused Pyongyang of supplying weapons to Syria and Myanmar.

The report to a UN&nbsp;Security Council sanctions committee, seen by Reuters on Friday, said North Korea had shipped coal to ports, including in Russia, China, South Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam, mainly using false paperwork that showed countries such as Russia and China as the coal origin, instead of North Korea.

The 15-member council has unanimously boosted sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke funding for Pyongyang&#39;s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, banning exports including coal, iron, lead, textiles and seafood, and capping imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products.

&quot;The DPRK (North Korea) is already flouting the most recent resolutions by exploiting global oil supply chains, complicit foreign nationals, offshore company registries and the international banking system,&quot; the UN&nbsp;monitors wrote in the 213-page report.

The North Korean mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the UN report. Russia and China have repeatedly said they are implementing UN&nbsp;sanctions on North Korea.

Syria Myanmar

The monitors said they had investigated ongoing ballistic missile cooperation between Syria and Myanmar, including more than 40 previously unreported North Korea shipments between 2012 and 2017 to Syria&#39;s Scientific Studies and Research Centre, which oversees the country&#39;s chemical weapons program.

The investigation has shown &quot;further evidence of arms embargo and other violations, including through the transfer of items with utility in ballistic missile and chemical weapons programs,&quot; the UN&nbsp;monitors wrote.

They also inspected cargo from two North Korea shipments intercepted by unidentified countries en route to Syria. Both contained acid-resistant tiles that could cover an area equal to a large scale industrial project, the monitors reported.

One country, which was not identified, told the monitors the seized shipments can &quot;be used to build bricks for the interior wall of a chemical factory.&quot;

Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons in 2013. However, diplomats and weapons inspectors suspect Syria may have secretly maintained or developed a new chemical weapons capability.

The Syrian mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the UN&nbsp;report.

The UN&nbsp;monitors also said one country, which they did not identify, reported it had evidence that Myanmar received ballistic missile systems from North Korea, along with conventional weapons, including multiple rocket launchers and surface-to-air missiles.

Myanmar UN&nbsp;Ambassador Hau Do Suan said the Myanmar government &quot;has no ongoing arms relationship, whatsoever, with North Korea&quot; and is abiding by the UN&nbsp;Security Council resolutions.

Banned exports, imports

Under a 2016 resolution, the UN&nbsp;Security Council capped coal exports and required countries to report any imports of North Korean coal to the council sanctions committee. It then banned all exports of coal by North Korea on Aug. 5.

The UN&nbsp;monitors investigated 16 coal shipments between January and Aug. 5 to ports in Russia, China, Malaysia and Vietnam. They said Malaysia reported one shipment to the council committee and the remaining 15 shipments violated sanctions.

After the coal ban was imposed on Aug. 5, the UN&nbsp;monitors investigated 23 coal shipments to ports in Russia, China, South Korea and Vietnam. The UN&nbsp;monitors said all those shipments &quot;would constitute a violation of the resolution, if confirmed.&quot;

&quot;The DPRK combined deceptive navigation patterns, signals manipulation, transshipments as well as fraudulent documentation to obscure the origin of the coal,&quot; the monitors said.

The UN&nbsp;monitors &quot;also investigated cases of ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products in violation (of UN&nbsp;sanctions) ... and found that the network behind these vessels is primarily based in Taiwan province of China.&quot;

The monitors said one country, which they did not name, told them North Korea had carried out such transfers off its ports of Wonsan and Nampo and in international waters between the Yellow Sea and East China Sea between October and January.

The report said several multinational oil companies, which were not named, were also being investigated for roles in the supply chain of petroleum products transferred to North Korea.

North Korea violated United Nations sanctions to earn nearly $200 million in 2017 from banned commodity exports, according to a confidential report by independent UN monitors, which also accused Pyongyang of supplying weapons to Syria and Myanmar

North Korea violated United Nations sanctions to earn nearly $200 million in 2017 from banned commodity exports, according to a confidential report by independent UN monitors, which also accused Pyongyang of supplying weapons to Syria and Myanmar. The report to a UN Security Council sanctions committee, seen by Reuters on Friday, said North Korea had shipped coal to ports, including in Russia, China, South Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam, mainly using false paperwork that showed countries such as Russia and China as the coal origin, instead of North Korea. The 15-member council has unanimously boosted sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, banning exports including coal, iron, lead, textiles and seafood, and capping imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products. "The DPRK (North Korea) is already flouting the most recent resolutions by exploiting global oil supply chains, complicit foreign nationals, offshore company registries and the international banking system," the UN monitors wrote in the 213-page report. The North Korean mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the UN report. Russia and China have repeatedly said they are implementing UN sanctions on North Korea. Syria Myanmar The monitors said they had investigated ongoing ballistic missile cooperation between Syria and Myanmar, including more than 40 previously unreported North Korea shipments between 2012 and 2017 to Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Centre, which oversees the country's chemical weapons program. The investigation has shown "further evidence of arms embargo and other violations, including through the transfer of items with utility in ballistic missile and chemical weapons programs," the UN monitors wrote. They also inspected cargo from two North Korea shipments intercepted by unidentified countries en route to Syria. Both contained acid-resistant tiles that could cover an area equal to a large scale industrial project, the monitors reported. One country, which was not identified, told the monitors the seized shipments can "be used to build bricks for the interior wall of a chemical factory." Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons in 2013. However, diplomats and weapons inspectors suspect Syria may have secretly maintained or developed a new chemical weapons capability. The Syrian mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the UN report. The UN monitors also said one country, which they did not identify, reported it had evidence that Myanmar received ballistic missile systems from North Korea, along with conventional weapons, including multiple rocket launchers and surface-to-air missiles. Myanmar UN Ambassador Hau Do Suan said the Myanmar government "has no ongoing arms relationship, whatsoever, with North Korea" and is abiding by the UN Security Council resolutions. Banned exports, imports Under a 2016 resolution, the UN Security Council capped coal exports and required countries to report any imports of North Korean coal to the council sanctions committee. It then banned all exports of coal by North Korea on Aug. 5. The UN monitors investigated 16 coal shipments between January and Aug. 5 to ports in Russia, China, Malaysia and Vietnam. They said Malaysia reported one shipment to the council committee and the remaining 15 shipments violated sanctions. After the coal ban was imposed on Aug. 5, the UN monitors investigated 23 coal shipments to ports in Russia, China, South Korea and Vietnam. The UN monitors said all those shipments "would constitute a violation of the resolution, if confirmed." "The DPRK combined deceptive navigation patterns, signals manipulation, transshipments as well as fraudulent documentation to obscure the origin of the coal," the monitors said. The UN monitors "also investigated cases of ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products in violation (of UN sanctions) ... and found that the network behind these vessels is primarily based in Taiwan province of China." The monitors said one country, which they did not name, told them North Korea had carried out such transfers off its ports of Wonsan and Nampo and in international waters between the Yellow Sea and East China Sea between October and January. The report said several multinational oil companies, which were not named, were also being investigated for roles in the supply chain of petroleum products transferred to North Korea.

North Korea earned $200 million from banned exports, sends arms to Syria, Myanmar: UN report

North Korea is flouting sanctions by exporting coal, iron, steel and other banned commodities, earning nearly $200 million in revenue last year, a UN report said Friday.

A UN panel of experts also found evidence of military cooperation by North Korea to develop Syria&#39;s chemical weapons programs and to provide Myanmar with ballistic missiles.&nbsp;

North Korea &quot;continued to export almost all the commodities prohibited in the resolutions, generating nearly $200 million in revenue between January and September 2017,&quot; said the report by the experts seen by AFP.

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Coal shipments were delivered to China, Malaysia, South Korea, Russia and Vietnam by ships using &quot;a combination of multiple evasion techniques, routes and deceptive tactics,&quot; said the report.

The Security Council last year adopted a series of resolutions to tighten and expand exports bans aimed at cutting off revenue to North Korea&#39;s military programs.

The United States led the push for tough economic sanctions after North Korea&#39;s sixth nuclear test and a series of ballistic missile launches that raised fears that the US mainland could soon be within reach.

Seven ships have been barred from ports worldwide for violating UN sanctions with coal and petroleum transfers, but the experts said much more must be done to confront &quot;these rampant illicit activities.&quot;

The panel found that North Korea &quot;is already flouting the most recent resolutions by exploiting global oil supply chains, complicit foreign nationals, offshore company registries, and the international banking system.&quot;

Arming Syria, Myanmar 
Syria and Myanmar are continuing cooperation with North Korea&#39;s KOMID corporation, the country&#39;s main arms exporter, which is on a UN sanctions blacklist, the report said.

The panel uncovered more than 40 previously unreported shipments from North Korea between 2012 and 2017 to front companies for Syria&#39;s Scientific Studies Research Council, also known as CERS, a key institute for Syria&#39;s chemical program.&nbsp;

The investigations reveal &quot;substantial new evidence&quot; concerning Pyongyang&#39;s military cooperation with Damascus, including at least three visits by North Korean technicians to Syria in 2016.

A visit by a North Korean technical delegation in August 2016 involved the &quot;transfer of special resistance valves and thermometers known for use in chemical weapons programs,&quot; said the report.

A member-state that was not named told the panel that North Korean &quot;technicians continue to operate at chemical weapons and missile facilities at Barzei, Adra and Hama&quot; in Syria, said the report.

Syria however told the panel that there were no North Korean technicians in its territory and that the only experts it was hosting from the country were involved in sports.

A member-state, which was not named, also notified the panel that Myanmar had received &quot;ballistic missile systems from (North Korea) in addition to a range of conventional weapons, including multiple rocket launches and surface-to air missiles&quot;.&nbsp;

North Korean diplomats, in particular trade representatives, continue to provide logistical support for arms sales and help organize exchanges for military technicians, it said.

While sanctions have been significantly broadened, this &quot;expansion of the regime is yet to be matched by the requisite political will&quot; to implement the measures, the experts said.

The panel of experts said 2018 offered a &quot;critical window of opportunity before a potential miscalculation with disastrous implications for international peace and security.&quot; 
&nbsp;

Coal shipments were delivered to China, Malaysia, South Korea, Russia and Vietnam by ships using 'a combination of multiple evasion techniques, routes and deceptive tactics,' a UN report said

North Korea is flouting sanctions by exporting coal, iron, steel and other banned commodities, earning nearly $200 million in revenue last year, a UN report said Friday. A UN panel of experts also found evidence of military cooperation by North Korea to develop Syria's chemical weapons programs and to provide Myanmar with ballistic missiles. North Korea "continued to export almost all the commodities prohibited in the resolutions, generating nearly $200 million in revenue between January and September 2017," said the report by the experts seen by AFP. North Korea 'continued to export almost all the commodities prohibited in the resolutions, generating nearly $200 million in revenue between January and September 2017' × Coal shipments were delivered to China, Malaysia, South Korea, Russia and Vietnam by ships using "a combination of multiple evasion techniques, routes and deceptive tactics," said the report. The Security Council last year adopted a series of resolutions to tighten and expand exports bans aimed at cutting off revenue to North Korea's military programs. The United States led the push for tough economic sanctions after North Korea's sixth nuclear test and a series of ballistic missile launches that raised fears that the US mainland could soon be within reach. Seven ships have been barred from ports worldwide for violating UN sanctions with coal and petroleum transfers, but the experts said much more must be done to confront "these rampant illicit activities." The panel found that North Korea "is already flouting the most recent resolutions by exploiting global oil supply chains, complicit foreign nationals, offshore company registries, and the international banking system." Arming Syria, Myanmar Syria and Myanmar are continuing cooperation with North Korea's KOMID corporation, the country's main arms exporter, which is on a UN sanctions blacklist, the report said. The panel uncovered more than 40 previously unreported shipments from North Korea between 2012 and 2017 to front companies for Syria's Scientific Studies Research Council, also known as CERS, a key institute for Syria's chemical program. The investigations reveal "substantial new evidence" concerning Pyongyang's military cooperation with Damascus, including at least three visits by North Korean technicians to Syria in 2016. A visit by a North Korean technical delegation in August 2016 involved the "transfer of special resistance valves and thermometers known for use in chemical weapons programs," said the report. A member-state that was not named told the panel that North Korean "technicians continue to operate at chemical weapons and missile facilities at Barzei, Adra and Hama" in Syria, said the report. Syria however told the panel that there were no North Korean technicians in its territory and that the only experts it was hosting from the country were involved in sports. A member-state, which was not named, also notified the panel that Myanmar had received "ballistic missile systems from (North Korea) in addition to a range of conventional weapons, including multiple rocket launches and surface-to air missiles". North Korean diplomats, in particular trade representatives, continue to provide logistical support for arms sales and help organize exchanges for military technicians, it said. While sanctions have been significantly broadened, this "expansion of the regime is yet to be matched by the requisite political will" to implement the measures, the experts said. The panel of experts said 2018 offered a "critical window of opportunity before a potential miscalculation with disastrous implications for international peace and security."

North Korea flouting sanctions, earned $200 mn from banned exports: UN

Branding North Korea&rsquo;s leadership &ldquo;depraved,&rdquo; President Donald Trump told Americans on Tuesday that Pyongyang&rsquo;s pursuit of nuclear missiles could &ldquo;very soon threaten our homeland&rdquo; and vowed a continued campaign of maximum pressure to keep that from happening.

In his first State of the Union speech to the US&nbsp;Congress, Trump&rsquo;s tough rhetoric underscored persistent tensions despite recent talks between North and South Korea that led to Pyongyang&rsquo;s agreement to participate in next month&rsquo;s Winter Olympic games in South Korea.

&ldquo;North Korea&#39;s reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten our homeland,&rdquo; Trump said.

&ldquo;We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from ever happening.&rdquo; &ldquo;We need only look at the depraved character of the North Korean regime to understand the nature of the nuclear threat it could pose to America and to our allies,&rdquo; he said.

North-South negotiations earlier this month have eased fears of war on the Korean peninsula that were in part stoked by an exchange of insults and threats between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump and top advisers have publicly welcomed the talks but US&nbsp;officials have said privately that Pyongyang might be trying to drive a wedge between allies Washington and Seoul.&nbsp;

Attending the State of the Union address as Trump&rsquo;s guests were the parents of Otto Warmbier, the American college student who died in June shortly after he was released by North Korea in a coma. &ldquo;Tonight, we pledge to honour Otto&#39;s memory with total American resolve,&rdquo; Trump said.

But he offered no new prescription or specifics on how he intended to rein in North Korea.

The Trump administration has repeatedly stressed its preference for a diplomatic solution to the Korea tensions while saying all options are on the table.

But US&nbsp;officials have said the internal debate on military action, including the possibility of a limited pre-emptive strike on a nuclear or missile site, has lost some momentum in recent weeks after the North-South talks ahead of ahead of the Olympics. 
 
North Korea Missiles&nbsp;

Earlier on Tuesday, the vice chairman of the US&nbsp;Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea&#39;s nuclear program had made strides in recent months but the country has not yet demonstrated all the components of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), including a survivable re-entry vehicle that can deliver a nuclear weapon.

Air Force General Paul Selva also said he was confident that if required the United States would be able to destroy &quot;most&quot; of North Korea&#39;s nuclear missile infrastructure.&nbsp;

In November, North Korea said it had successfully tested a new type of ICBM that could reach all of the US&nbsp;mainlands. US-based experts said data from the test appeared to support that.

Trump refrained from referring to Kim as &ldquo;Rocket Man,&rdquo; a disparaging nickname he has used before. But he insisted that &ldquo;no regime has oppressed its own citizens more totally or brutally than the cruel dictatorship in North Korea.&rdquo;

Trump said that among the witnesses to the &ldquo;ominous&rdquo; nature of the North Korean government was Ji Seong-ho, a defector who escaped from North Korea after being run over by a train while trying to steal coal and suffering torture and starvation.&nbsp;

Joining Trump&rsquo;s guests in the gallery, Ji, who lost a hand and foot, now heads a group that rescues and resettles North Korean refugees.

Trump had recently held back on harsher language after having threatened last year to unleash &quot;fire and fury&rdquo; on North Korea.

Pyongyang, in turn, has threatened to target the US&nbsp;territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. Kim has shown no sign of willingness to give in to US&nbsp;demands and negotiate away a weapons program he sees as vital to his survival.

North-South negotiations earlier this month have eased fears of war on the Korean peninsula

Branding North Korea’s leadership “depraved,” President Donald Trump told Americans on Tuesday that Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear missiles could “very soon threaten our homeland” and vowed a continued campaign of maximum pressure to keep that from happening. In his first State of the Union speech to the US Congress, Trump’s tough rhetoric underscored persistent tensions despite recent talks between North and South Korea that led to Pyongyang’s agreement to participate in next month’s Winter Olympic games in South Korea. “North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten our homeland,” Trump said. “We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from ever happening.” “We need only look at the depraved character of the North Korean regime to understand the nature of the nuclear threat it could pose to America and to our allies,” he said. North-South negotiations earlier this month have eased fears of war on the Korean peninsula that were in part stoked by an exchange of insults and threats between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump and top advisers have publicly welcomed the talks but US officials have said privately that Pyongyang might be trying to drive a wedge between allies Washington and Seoul. Attending the State of the Union address as Trump’s guests were the parents of Otto Warmbier, the American college student who died in June shortly after he was released by North Korea in a coma. “Tonight, we pledge to honour Otto's memory with total American resolve,” Trump said. But he offered no new prescription or specifics on how he intended to rein in North Korea. The Trump administration has repeatedly stressed its preference for a diplomatic solution to the Korea tensions while saying all options are on the table. But US officials have said the internal debate on military action, including the possibility of a limited pre-emptive strike on a nuclear or missile site, has lost some momentum in recent weeks after the North-South talks ahead of ahead of the Olympics. North Korea Missiles Earlier on Tuesday, the vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea's nuclear program had made strides in recent months but the country has not yet demonstrated all the components of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), including a survivable re-entry vehicle that can deliver a nuclear weapon. Air Force General Paul Selva also said he was confident that if required the United States would be able to destroy "most" of North Korea's nuclear missile infrastructure. In November, North Korea said it had successfully tested a new type of ICBM that could reach all of the US mainlands. US-based experts said data from the test appeared to support that. Trump refrained from referring to Kim as “Rocket Man,” a disparaging nickname he has used before. But he insisted that “no regime has oppressed its own citizens more totally or brutally than the cruel dictatorship in North Korea.” Trump said that among the witnesses to the “ominous” nature of the North Korean government was Ji Seong-ho, a defector who escaped from North Korea after being run over by a train while trying to steal coal and suffering torture and starvation. Joining Trump’s guests in the gallery, Ji, who lost a hand and foot, now heads a group that rescues and resettles North Korean refugees. Trump had recently held back on harsher language after having threatened last year to unleash "fire and fury” on North Korea. Pyongyang, in turn, has threatened to target the US territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. Kim has shown no sign of willingness to give in to US demands and negotiate away a weapons program he sees as vital to his survival.

State of the Union address: Trump calls North Korea leadership 'depraved,' warns of nuclear missile threat

The unified Korean women&#39;s ice hockey team faced an unexpected challenge at their first joint training session, reports said Monday -- vastly different hockey terminology on either side of the divided peninsula.

Seven decades of almost total separation after the 1950-53 Korean War, with all ordinary civilian contact blocked between North and South, has seen their once common language diverge in many respects.

The two Koreas still share the same writing system, known as Hangul -- an alphabet developed in the 15th century to replace Chinese characters.

But different words are emerging as they develop separately, and in the capitalist South, ice hockey players adapted the sounds of English words for most sporting terms.

Skating is called &quot;seu-ke-ee-ting&quot; and a &quot;t-push&quot; -- a defensive technique by a goalie -- is &quot;tee-pu-sh&quot;. &nbsp;

But the North created its own Korean-language words for each move, calling skating &quot;apuro jee chee gee&quot;, while a &quot;t-push&quot; is a &quot;moonjeegee eedong&quot;, literally meaning &quot;a move by a gatekeeper&quot;.

To overcome communication issues the South&#39;s&nbsp;sports&nbsp;authorities put together a list of the different vocabularies and distributed it to the players ahead of their first skate together on Sunday.

It also includes the English pronunciation of the North Korean terms -- apparently for the use of the South Korean team&#39;s Canadian coach Sarah Murray.

The list was intended &quot;to help players understand&quot;, one official of the Korea Ice Hockey Association (KIHA) told the South&#39;s top-selling Chosun daily.

&quot;But people are still in the process of getting used to it, so we hear a mishmash of terms from both sides during practice.&quot;

Three letter code

The joint team was forged as part of peace efforts by Seoul to use the Pyeongchang Winter Games in the South to ease tension on the flashpoint peninsula. &nbsp;

The atmosphere at the first practice was &quot;serious but amicable&quot;, Seoul&#39;s News1 news agency said, citing an KIHA official, adding many Northern players had demonstrated &quot;great focus and fighting spirit&quot;. &nbsp;

Since the division of the peninsula, the two Koreas have only competed as unified teams in 1991, when their women won the team gold at the world table tennis championship in Japan, and their under-19 footballers reached the world championship quarter-finals in Portugal.

North and South have their own three-letter Olympic country codes -- PRK and KOR respectively, for People&#39;s Republic of Korea and Korean Republic -- and the unified team has been accorded its own country code, COR, from the French word for Korea, Cor&eacute;e.&nbsp;

The ice hockey squad is made up of 23 South Korean players and 12 Northerners, who crossed the Demilitarized Zone last week. They are scheduled to hold a warm-up match against Sweden on Sunday.

But the last-minute creation of the team sparked controversy among many South Koreans who accused Seoul of using athletes for political purposes and robbing Southern players of opportunities to compete at the Olympics.&nbsp;

The North will send another 10 athletes to take part in the Games in other&nbsp;sports including cross-country skiing and figure skating after its leader Kim Jong-Un announced a plan to join the event in his New Year speech.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

To overcome communication issues the South's sports authorities put together a list of the different vocabularies and distributed it to the players

The unified Korean women's ice hockey team faced an unexpected challenge at their first joint training session, reports said Monday -- vastly different hockey terminology on either side of the divided peninsula. Seven decades of almost total separation after the 1950-53 Korean War, with all ordinary civilian contact blocked between North and South, has seen their once common language diverge in many respects. The two Koreas still share the same writing system, known as Hangul -- an alphabet developed in the 15th century to replace Chinese characters. But different words are emerging as they develop separately, and in the capitalist South, ice hockey players adapted the sounds of English words for most sporting terms. Skating is called "seu-ke-ee-ting" and a "t-push" -- a defensive technique by a goalie -- is "tee-pu-sh". But the North created its own Korean-language words for each move, calling skating "apuro jee chee gee", while a "t-push" is a "moonjeegee eedong", literally meaning "a move by a gatekeeper". To overcome communication issues the South's sports authorities put together a list of the different vocabularies and distributed it to the players ahead of their first skate together on Sunday. It also includes the English pronunciation of the North Korean terms -- apparently for the use of the South Korean team's Canadian coach Sarah Murray. The list was intended "to help players understand", one official of the Korea Ice Hockey Association (KIHA) told the South's top-selling Chosun daily. "But people are still in the process of getting used to it, so we hear a mishmash of terms from both sides during practice." Three letter code The joint team was forged as part of peace efforts by Seoul to use the Pyeongchang Winter Games in the South to ease tension on the flashpoint peninsula. The atmosphere at the first practice was "serious but amicable", Seoul's News1 news agency said, citing an KIHA official, adding many Northern players had demonstrated "great focus and fighting spirit". Since the division of the peninsula, the two Koreas have only competed as unified teams in 1991, when their women won the team gold at the world table tennis championship in Japan, and their under-19 footballers reached the world championship quarter-finals in Portugal. North and South have their own three-letter Olympic country codes -- PRK and KOR respectively, for People's Republic of Korea and Korean Republic -- and the unified team has been accorded its own country code, COR, from the French word for Korea, Corée. The ice hockey squad is made up of 23 South Korean players and 12 Northerners, who crossed the Demilitarized Zone last week. They are scheduled to hold a warm-up match against Sweden on Sunday. But the last-minute creation of the team sparked controversy among many South Koreans who accused Seoul of using athletes for political purposes and robbing Southern players of opportunities to compete at the Olympics. The North will send another 10 athletes to take part in the Games in other sports including cross-country skiing and figure skating after its leader Kim Jong-Un announced a plan to join the event in his New Year speech.

Winter Olympics: Unified Korean ice hockey team lost in translation

South Korea said today that North Korea <a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/winter-olympics-unified-korean-ice-hockey-team-lost-in-translation-31075">has called off joint Olympic performance</a> on its soil, the South Korean government said today.

North Korea had <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-imposes-more-north-korea-sanctions-urges-china-russia-expulsions-30761">earlier agreed to form a unified </a>women&#39;s ice hockey team with the South in what the authorities have dubbed&nbsp;the &quot;peace Olympics&quot;. The two teams have already begun practicing together for the Winter Games.

The ice hockey squad comprises of &nbsp;23 South Korean players and 12 North Koreans.

The North Koreans are due to send another 10 athletes to take part in the Winter Games in other sports including cross-country skiing and figure skating.

The Winter Olympics due to start in Pyeongchang next month has been the center of North and South Korean peace moves for the last one month although South&#39;s unification minister had urged North Korea last week that Pyongyang should seize the opportunity to talk to Washington.&nbsp;

Both South Korea and the US have decided to put military exercises on hold till the Winter Olympics and Paralympics end on March 25th.

Amid the peace moves, reports say North Korea is preparing a military parade in Pyongyang on February 8th, a day before the Winter Olympics&#39; opening ceremony.

The ice hockey squad comprises of 23 South Korean players and 12 North Koreans.

South Korea said today that North Korea has called off joint Olympic performance on its soil, the South Korean government said today. North Korea had earlier agreed to form a unified women's ice hockey team with the South in what the authorities have dubbed the "peace Olympics". The two teams have already begun practicing together for the Winter Games. The ice hockey squad comprises of 23 South Korean players and 12 North Koreans. The North Koreans are due to send another 10 athletes to take part in the Winter Games in other sports including cross-country skiing and figure skating. The Winter Olympics due to start in Pyeongchang next month has been the center of North and South Korean peace moves for the last one month although South's unification minister had urged North Korea last week that Pyongyang should seize the opportunity to talk to Washington. Both South Korea and the US have decided to put military exercises on hold till the Winter Olympics and Paralympics end on March 25th. Amid the peace moves, reports say North Korea is preparing a military parade in Pyongyang on February 8th, a day before the Winter Olympics' opening ceremony.

North Korea won't hold joint Olympic performance on own soil: South Korea

US President Donald Trump, who has garnered a large following on social media with rambunctious postings, said he sometimes tweets from bed, though he occasionally allows others to post his words.

Trump frequently uses Twitter to announce policy, assail his adversaries and to tangle with countries, including North Korea, over world affairs. The @realDonaldTrump account had 47.2 million users as of Sunday.

In an interview with Britain&#39;s ITV channel, he appeared to appreciate the wide impact of his postings in Twitter and said that he needed social media to communicate with voters in the era of what he termed fake news.

&quot;If I don&#39;t have that form of communication I can&#39;t defend myself,&quot; Trump said in an interview broadcast on Sunday. &quot;I get a lot of fake news, a lot of news that is very false or made up.&quot;

It was a crazy situation, he said, that many people in the world waited for his tweets. He usually tweets himself, sometimes from bed.

When asked about whether he was lying in bed with his phone thinking of how to wind people up, Trump said: &quot;Well, perhaps sometimes in bed, perhaps sometimes at breakfast or lunch or whatever, but generally speaking during the early morning, or during the evening I can do whatever, but I am very busy during the day, very long hours. I am busy.&quot;

&quot;I will sometimes just dictate out something really quickly and give it to one of my people to put it on,&quot; he said.

Asked about eating burgers and drinking Coke, Trump, 71, said: &quot;I eat fine food, really from some of the finest chefs in the world, I eat healthy food, I also have some of that food on occasion... I think I eat actually quite well.&quot;

Trump said that he was very popular in the United Kingdom. Some British politicians have called for Trump not to visit and 1.86 million people have signed a petition asking for him to be banned from entering the United Kingdom.

&quot;I get so much fan mail from people in your country - they love my sense of security, they love what I am saying about many different things,&quot; Trump said.

BREXIT

Trump would take a &quot;tougher&quot; approach to Brexit negotiations than British Prime Minister Theresa May.

When asked if May was in a &quot;good position&quot; regarding the ongoing Brexit talks, Trump replied: &quot;Would it be the way I negotiate? No, I wouldn&#39;t negotiate it the way it&#39;s [being] negotiated ... I would have had a different attitude.&quot;

Pressed on how his approach would be different, he said: &quot;I would have said the European Union is not cracked up to what it&#39;s supposed to be. I would have taken a tougher stand in getting out.&quot;

He said the United States would do a post-Brexit trade deal with the United Kingdom.

He was pressed on how some women opposed him and he said he supported women and that many women understood that.

Trump said women, in particular, liked his support for a strong military as they often wanted to feel safe at home.

&quot;There&#39;s nobody better than me on the military... I think women really like that. I think they want to be safe at home,&quot; Trump said. &quot;I have tremendous respect for women.&quot;

&quot;No, I wouldn&#39;t say I am a feminist. I mean, I think that would be maybe going too far: I am for women, I am for men, I am for everyone.&quot;

He said French President Emmanuel Macron was a friend and that he liked him a lot.

Trump frequently uses Twitter to announce policy, assail his adversaries and to tangle with countries, including North Korea, over world affairs.

US President Donald Trump, who has garnered a large following on social media with rambunctious postings, said he sometimes tweets from bed, though he occasionally allows others to post his words. Trump frequently uses Twitter to announce policy, assail his adversaries and to tangle with countries, including North Korea, over world affairs. The @realDonaldTrump account had 47.2 million users as of Sunday. In an interview with Britain's ITV channel, he appeared to appreciate the wide impact of his postings in Twitter and said that he needed social media to communicate with voters in the era of what he termed fake news. "If I don't have that form of communication I can't defend myself," Trump said in an interview broadcast on Sunday. "I get a lot of fake news, a lot of news that is very false or made up." It was a crazy situation, he said, that many people in the world waited for his tweets. He usually tweets himself, sometimes from bed. When asked about whether he was lying in bed with his phone thinking of how to wind people up, Trump said: "Well, perhaps sometimes in bed, perhaps sometimes at breakfast or lunch or whatever, but generally speaking during the early morning, or during the evening I can do whatever, but I am very busy during the day, very long hours. I am busy." "I will sometimes just dictate out something really quickly and give it to one of my people to put it on," he said. Asked about eating burgers and drinking Coke, Trump, 71, said: "I eat fine food, really from some of the finest chefs in the world, I eat healthy food, I also have some of that food on occasion... I think I eat actually quite well." Trump said that he was very popular in the United Kingdom. Some British politicians have called for Trump not to visit and 1.86 million people have signed a petition asking for him to be banned from entering the United Kingdom. "I get so much fan mail from people in your country - they love my sense of security, they love what I am saying about many different things," Trump said. BREXIT Trump would take a "tougher" approach to Brexit negotiations than British Prime Minister Theresa May. When asked if May was in a "good position" regarding the ongoing Brexit talks, Trump replied: "Would it be the way I negotiate? No, I wouldn't negotiate it the way it's [being] negotiated ... I would have had a different attitude." Pressed on how his approach would be different, he said: "I would have said the European Union is not cracked up to what it's supposed to be. I would have taken a tougher stand in getting out." He said the United States would do a post-Brexit trade deal with the United Kingdom. He was pressed on how some women opposed him and he said he supported women and that many women understood that. Trump said women, in particular, liked his support for a strong military as they often wanted to feel safe at home. "There's nobody better than me on the military... I think women really like that. I think they want to be safe at home," Trump said. "I have tremendous respect for women." "No, I wouldn't say I am a feminist. I mean, I think that would be maybe going too far: I am for women, I am for men, I am for everyone." He said French President Emmanuel Macron was a friend and that he liked him a lot.

I tweet from bed sometimes, US President Trump says

The porn site Pornhub saw a sharp spike in traffic from Hawaii after the state sent out a <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/hawaii-rattled-after-alert-of-incoming-missile-is-mistakenly-sent-29440" target="_blank">false missile alert</a> last week.

The site said Wednesday that it saw a massive 77%&nbsp; drop in traffic right after the alert was sent out.

However, after it was clarified that the warning was a false alarm, traffic to the site surged right up by 48%.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Hawaii on alert! <a href="https://t.co/JzqpXe5ejz">https://t.co/JzqpXe5ejz</a> <a href="https://t.co/4AeOpDDaZ6">pic.twitter.com/4AeOpDDaZ6</a>
&mdash; Pornhub ARIA (@Pornhub) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pornhub/status/953668567714680833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

The false alert was sent out last Saturday, causing panic and confusion across the state.

Emergency management officials eventually determined the notification was sent just after 8&nbsp;am during a shift change after &quot;the wrong button was pushed.&quot;&nbsp;

The US is already on edge with tensions soaring between it and North Korea.&nbsp;

Pornhub is the world&#39;s largest porn site. The site received some 28.5 billion visits in 2017, or an average of 81 million people a day.

Traffic dropped by 77% right after the alert. Then, after it was clarified that it was a false alert, traffic surged up again by 48%

The porn site Pornhub saw a sharp spike in traffic from Hawaii after the state sent out a false missile alert last week. The site said Wednesday that it saw a massive 77% drop in traffic right after the alert was sent out. However, after it was clarified that the warning was a false alarm, traffic to the site surged right up by 48%. Hawaii on alert! https://t.co/JzqpXe5ejz pic.twitter.com/4AeOpDDaZ6 — Pornhub ARIA (@Pornhub) January 17, 2018 × The false alert was sent out last Saturday, causing panic and confusion across the state. Emergency management officials eventually determined the notification was sent just after 8 am during a shift change after "the wrong button was pushed." The US is already on edge with tensions soaring between it and North Korea. Pornhub is the world's largest porn site. The site received some 28.5 billion visits in 2017, or an average of 81 million people a day.

After false missile alert, Pornhub sees spike in traffic from Hawaii

Two contradictory events set an uneven tone for the Korean Crisis. China condemns the 20 nation who are calling for tougher sanctions against North Korea. In a meeting held this week in Canada, these nations attempted to pressurise North Korea in giving up its nuclear weapons, without the participation of China and Russia.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

At the same time, the two Koreas decided to march together at the Olympics opening ceremony under a white &quot;unification flag&quot;, showing the Korean peninsula, and agree to field united ice hockey team in February 2018. The two Koreas also agreed to field a united women&#39;s ice hockey team, and have joint participation in Para-Olympics in March 2018. Such plans give an indication that the &lsquo;Sports Diplomacy&rsquo; of Koreans may be the first step to some face-saving settlement of the North Korean issue, but it is not as simple as it appears to be.

&nbsp;

During the Vancouver meeting, the United States continued to threaten North Korea with the option of military response in case North Korea decides not to talk as per the conditions laid down by the US. The US has reasons to say so because nuclearisation and weaponisation of North Korea is no more a local issue between the North and South Korea but its dimension has grown beyond the region up to the mainland of US now. North Korea indicates a willingness to talk, but without precondition.

&nbsp;

China might be feeling that these talks are an extension of the erstwhile cold war, isolating China, Russia and North Korea. Chinese see it as an attempt of the US to convince the world community about exhaustion of all peaceful options, before actually going for a possible military option.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Although the world community will like China to do more but China has no moral standpoint to urge North Korea to follow the non-nuclear path. The North can turn back to tell China, that it is going nuclear exactly for the same reason China went nuclear - to ensure its survival against the US.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The use of nuclear capability as insurance for its defence, was cited as the main reason by almost every country, which added nuclear weapons to its arsenal. When Israel went nuclear, it developed a survival capability to dissuade all hostile neighbouring Arab countries. North Korea has been and will continue to use this logic for its missiles/nuclear tests/ misadventures so far, which revolves around its own security concerns and survival of the regime of Kim. It justifies it as a defensive measure against the US threat; in the past, the US was involved in regime changes at Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and other countries which did not follow its dictate. None of these countries had nuclear capabilities, hence, it was incapable of threatening either the US or its allies.

&nbsp;

The unfortunate part is that this threat is a byproduct of selective leakage of nuclear and missile technology by some irresponsible countries, despite signing NPT. This has led to a dangerous situation where global community is suffering from a threat of nuclear blackmailing by states like North Korea and Pakistan today and, may be, by militants in future if they can lay their hand on dirty bomb or tactical nukes. It may, therefore, be prudent to think that China and Russia may not have that strong a leverage over North Korea as it is made out to be. It is also a matter of concern and suspicion that Kim cannot become so nice and reasonable suddenly.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

What seems to be on is a crisis avoidance exercise by North Korea to prevent a nuclear war for the time being by &ldquo;Sports Diplomacy&rdquo;. The danger is that it gives adequate time to North Korea to complete his nuclear ambitions, and it may reach a state where the reversal may not be possible (if it has not reached there already).

&nbsp;

The fact that the US decided to postpone military exercises beyond the winter Olympics indicates that a tacit understanding exists between the US and South Korea. The positive part is that there is some beginning to resolve this crisis without loss of face to either side, hence, it is best practical beginning in the given circumstances, which will have to be pursued. The options in any case are shrinking.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Korean Peninsula will have to be accepted as a flashpoint. No one will deliberately like to initiate war, but it will continue to be prone to accidental triggers. The status quo ante is not an option because if no action is taken against North Korea, the world will have live with the problem of nuclear blackmailing and countries like Pakistan working on similar philosophy may also be encouraged. Moreover, it will have a cascading effect as Japan and Iran may go nuclear and South Korea may ask for tactical nukes.

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;&nbsp;

What seems to be on is a crisis avoidance exercise by North Korea to prevent a nuclear war for the time being by “Sports Diplomacy”.

Two contradictory events set an uneven tone for the Korean Crisis. China condemns the 20 nation who are calling for tougher sanctions against North Korea. In a meeting held this week in Canada, these nations attempted to pressurise North Korea in giving up its nuclear weapons, without the participation of China and Russia. At the same time, the two Koreas decided to march together at the Olympics opening ceremony under a white "unification flag", showing the Korean peninsula, and agree to field united ice hockey team in February 2018. The two Koreas also agreed to field a united women's ice hockey team, and have joint participation in Para-Olympics in March 2018. Such plans give an indication that the ‘Sports Diplomacy’ of Koreans may be the first step to some face-saving settlement of the North Korean issue, but it is not as simple as it appears to be. During the Vancouver meeting, the United States continued to threaten North Korea with the option of military response in case North Korea decides not to talk as per the conditions laid down by the US. The US has reasons to say so because nuclearisation and weaponisation of North Korea is no more a local issue between the North and South Korea but its dimension has grown beyond the region up to the mainland of US now. North Korea indicates a willingness to talk, but without precondition. China might be feeling that these talks are an extension of the erstwhile cold war, isolating China, Russia and North Korea. Chinese see it as an attempt of the US to convince the world community about exhaustion of all peaceful options, before actually going for a possible military option. Although the world community will like China to do more but China has no moral standpoint to urge North Korea to follow the non-nuclear path. The North can turn back to tell China, that it is going nuclear exactly for the same reason China went nuclear - to ensure its survival against the US. The use of nuclear capability as insurance for its defence, was cited as the main reason by almost every country, which added nuclear weapons to its arsenal. When Israel went nuclear, it developed a survival capability to dissuade all hostile neighbouring Arab countries. North Korea has been and will continue to use this logic for its missiles/nuclear tests/ misadventures so far, which revolves around its own security concerns and survival of the regime of Kim. It justifies it as a defensive measure against the US threat; in the past, the US was involved in regime changes at Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and other countries which did not follow its dictate. None of these countries had nuclear capabilities, hence, it was incapable of threatening either the US or its allies. The unfortunate part is that this threat is a byproduct of selective leakage of nuclear and missile technology by some irresponsible countries, despite signing NPT. This has led to a dangerous situation where global community is suffering from a threat of nuclear blackmailing by states like North Korea and Pakistan today and, may be, by militants in future if they can lay their hand on dirty bomb or tactical nukes. It may, therefore, be prudent to think that China and Russia may not have that strong a leverage over North Korea as it is made out to be. It is also a matter of concern and suspicion that Kim cannot become so nice and reasonable suddenly. What seems to be on is a crisis avoidance exercise by North Korea to prevent a nuclear war for the time being by “Sports Diplomacy”. The danger is that it gives adequate time to North Korea to complete his nuclear ambitions, and it may reach a state where the reversal may not be possible (if it has not reached there already). The fact that the US decided to postpone military exercises beyond the winter Olympics indicates that a tacit understanding exists between the US and South Korea. The positive part is that there is some beginning to resolve this crisis without loss of face to either side, hence, it is best practical beginning in the given circumstances, which will have to be pursued. The options in any case are shrinking. Korean Peninsula will have to be accepted as a flashpoint. No one will deliberately like to initiate war, but it will continue to be prone to accidental triggers. The status quo ante is not an option because if no action is taken against North Korea, the world will have live with the problem of nuclear blackmailing and countries like Pakistan working on similar philosophy may also be encouraged. Moreover, it will have a cascading effect as Japan and Iran may go nuclear and South Korea may ask for tactical nukes. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Is sports diplomacy a new game plan of North Korea?

US&nbsp;Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday the United States is receiving evidence that international sanctions are &quot;really starting to hurt&quot; North Korea, and praised China for putting pressure on Pyongyang.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in had attributed North Korea&#39;s recent willingness to talk to South Korea to the pain of sanctions, Tillerson told an event at Stanford University in California.

Tillerson said that he was confident the pressure would eventually bring North Korea to the negotiating table over its nuclear and missile programs. Pyongyang has carried out nuclear and missiles tests in defiance of United Nations and other sanctions.

&quot;We are getting a lot of evidence that these sanctions are really starting to hurt,&quot; Tillerson said, citing intelligence and anecdotal evidence from defectors.

He said Japan told a conference on North Korea in Vancouver on Tuesday that more than 100 North Korean fishing boats had drifted into its waters and two-thirds of those aboard them had died.

&quot;What they learned is that they are being sent out in the winter time because there are food shortages and they are being sent out to fish with inadequate fuel to get back,&quot; he said.

China did not attend the Vancouver meeting, where 20 nations agreed to step up sanctions pressure on North Korea, but Tillerson highlighted Beijing&#39;s role.

&quot;We have never had Chinese support for sanctions like we&#39;re getting now,&quot; he said.

&quot;Russia&#39;s a slightly different issue, but the Chinese have learned in hard on the North Koreans,&quot; he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday that Russia is helping North Korea evade sanctions and that Pyongyang is getting &quot;closer every day&quot; to being able to deliver a long-range missile to the United States.

Tillerson said that while North Korea had a record of seeking to drive a wedge between the United States and its allies through &quot;charm offensives&quot;, Washington was supportive of the North-South dialogue.

He said it was possible North Korea&#39;s presence &quot;may be their early effort to break the ice.&quot;

&quot;We&rsquo;ll see - nothing may come of it,&quot; he said.

Tillerson said of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un: &quot;he knows how to reach me if he wants to talk. But he&#39;s going to tell me he wants to talk. We&#39;re not going to chase him.&quot;

Tillerson said he was confident the sides would eventually get to the negotiating table and he wanted to know when that happened that the United States had &quot;very, very strong military options standing behind me.&quot;

The Trump administration has said repeatedly that all options are available, including military ones, in forcing North Korea to give up development of nuclear missiles capable of reaching the United States, although it prefers a diplomatic solution.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Tillerson said that while North Korea had a record of seeking to drive a wedge between the United States and its allies through "charm offensives", Washington was supportive of the North-South dialogue.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday the United States is receiving evidence that international sanctions are "really starting to hurt" North Korea, and praised China for putting pressure on Pyongyang. South Korean President Moon Jae-in had attributed North Korea's recent willingness to talk to South Korea to the pain of sanctions, Tillerson told an event at Stanford University in California. Tillerson said that he was confident the pressure would eventually bring North Korea to the negotiating table over its nuclear and missile programs. Pyongyang has carried out nuclear and missiles tests in defiance of United Nations and other sanctions. "We are getting a lot of evidence that these sanctions are really starting to hurt," Tillerson said, citing intelligence and anecdotal evidence from defectors. He said Japan told a conference on North Korea in Vancouver on Tuesday that more than 100 North Korean fishing boats had drifted into its waters and two-thirds of those aboard them had died. "What they learned is that they are being sent out in the winter time because there are food shortages and they are being sent out to fish with inadequate fuel to get back," he said. China did not attend the Vancouver meeting, where 20 nations agreed to step up sanctions pressure on North Korea, but Tillerson highlighted Beijing's role. "We have never had Chinese support for sanctions like we're getting now," he said. "Russia's a slightly different issue, but the Chinese have learned in hard on the North Koreans," he said. U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday that Russia is helping North Korea evade sanctions and that Pyongyang is getting "closer every day" to being able to deliver a long-range missile to the United States. Tillerson said that while North Korea had a record of seeking to drive a wedge between the United States and its allies through "charm offensives", Washington was supportive of the North-South dialogue. He said it was possible North Korea's presence "may be their early effort to break the ice." "We’ll see - nothing may come of it," he said. Tillerson said of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un: "he knows how to reach me if he wants to talk. But he's going to tell me he wants to talk. We're not going to chase him." Tillerson said he was confident the sides would eventually get to the negotiating table and he wanted to know when that happened that the United States had "very, very strong military options standing behind me." The Trump administration has said repeatedly that all options are available, including military ones, in forcing North Korea to give up development of nuclear missiles capable of reaching the United States, although it prefers a diplomatic solution.

Tillerson: Evidence sanctions 'really starting to hurt' North Korea

North Korea will send around 230 people as a single cheering squad to the Winter Olympics in the South next month, South Korea&#39;s unification ministry said in a statement after officials from the two Koreas held talks on Wednesday.

North and South Korea have been talking since last week regarding Pyongyang&#39;s participation in the Olympics. The ministry said the two sides exchanged opinions on several issues, including the size of the North Korean athletics team, joint cultural events and use of the Masikryong ski report in North Korea.

There were reports of both countries coming together to host a joint skating and ice-hockey team but it hasn&#39;t been confirmed.

Kim Jong Un regime had decided to send athletes, officials, performers including its famed skating team for Pyeongchang Games which is situated 80 kilometres from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

&quot;Inter-Korean relations have been strained for almost 10 years,&quot; the North&#39;s chief delegate Jon Jong-Su said, adding,&quot;We hope that ties can open.&quot;

There were reports of both countries coming together to host a joint skating and ice-hockey team but it hasn't been confirmed.

North Korea will send around 230 people as a single cheering squad to the Winter Olympics in the South next month, South Korea's unification ministry said in a statement after officials from the two Koreas held talks on Wednesday. North and South Korea have been talking since last week regarding Pyongyang's participation in the Olympics. The ministry said the two sides exchanged opinions on several issues, including the size of the North Korean athletics team, joint cultural events and use of the Masikryong ski report in North Korea. There were reports of both countries coming together to host a joint skating and ice-hockey team but it hasn't been confirmed. Kim Jong Un regime had decided to send athletes, officials, performers including its famed skating team for Pyeongchang Games which is situated 80 kilometres from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). "Inter-Korean relations have been strained for almost 10 years," the North's chief delegate Jon Jong-Su said, adding,"We hope that ties can open."

North Korea to send 230 cheerleaders for Winter Olympics

The two&nbsp;Koreas agreed during rare talks on Wednesday to form a combined women&#39;s ice hockey team to take part in next month&#39;s Winter Olympics in the South, and march together under a unified peninsula flag at the opening ceremony, a joint statement released by Seoul&#39;s unification ministry said.

North&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;will send a 550-member delegation, including 230 cheerleaders, 140 artists and 30 Taekwondo players for a demonstration, the statement said.

The delegation is scheduled to begin arriving in South&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;on Jan. 25, the statement said.

The delegation is scheduled to begin arriving in South Korea on Jan 25

The two Koreas agreed during rare talks on Wednesday to form a combined women's ice hockey team to take part in next month's Winter Olympics in the South, and march together under a unified peninsula flag at the opening ceremony, a joint statement released by Seoul's unification ministry said. North Korea will send a 550-member delegation, including 230 cheerleaders, 140 artists and 30 Taekwondo players for a demonstration, the statement said. The delegation is scheduled to begin arriving in South Korea on Jan. 25, the statement said.

Koreas to form unified ice hockey team, march together at Winter Olympics

As a South Korean delegation started preparations for another round of talks with North Koran officials on participation in the Winter Olympics next month, top Japanese and US officials said North Korea&#39;s &quot;charm offensive&quot; should not be underestimated.

At a meeting in Vancouver&nbsp;where top officials from 20 countries have gathered, Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono said: &quot;It is not the time to ease pressure, or to reward North Korea,&quot; adding, &quot;The fact that North Korea is engaging in dialogue could be interpreted as proof that the sanctions are working,&quot; the minister said.

&quot;The world should not be naive about North Korea&#39;s &quot;charm offensive&quot;, the minister added.

Agreeing with Japan, US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said: &quot;We must increase the costs of the regime&#39;s behaviour to the point that North Korea must come to the table for credible negotiations.&quot;

Tillerson said North Korea must not be allowed &quot;to drive a wedge&quot; through allied resolve or solidarity and rejected China and Russia&#39;s proposal of stopping military exercises around the Korean peninsula.

The United States and close allies agreed on tougher &quot;maritime interdiction&quot; to prevent North Korea from evading nuclear sanctions.

Tillerson&nbsp;said at the talks in Vancouver that the allies do not want to interfere with &quot;legitimate shipping&quot; but warned that action would be taken to stop sanctions-busting &quot;ship-to-ship&quot; transfers at sea.&nbsp;The US moved three B-2 bombers along the Korean peninsula ahead of the Winter Olympics in what the US officials said was &quot;deterrent options to maintain regional stability.&quot;

The US government has sent the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier to the western Pacific including the USS Wasp which reached southern Japan recently.&nbsp;USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier has also been stationed by the US along the Japanese coastline.

Tillerson added that countries attending the Vancouver conference aimed to improve the effectiveness of &quot;maximum pressure&quot; campaign on Pyongyang while urging North Korea&#39;s principal ally China and Russia to fully implement UN sanctions.

&quot;We cannot abide lapses or sanctions evasion,&quot; Tillerson said.&nbsp;

&quot;We will continue to call attention to, and designate, entities and individuals complicit in such actions,&quot; the US secretary of state added.

The United States and close allies agreed on tougher "maritime interdiction" to prevent North Korea from evading nuclear sanctions

As a South Korean delegation started preparations for another round of talks with North Koran officials on participation in the Winter Olympics next month, top Japanese and US officials said North Korea's "charm offensive" should not be underestimated. At a meeting in Vancouver where top officials from 20 countries have gathered, Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono said: "It is not the time to ease pressure, or to reward North Korea," adding, "The fact that North Korea is engaging in dialogue could be interpreted as proof that the sanctions are working," the minister said. "The world should not be naive about North Korea's "charm offensive", the minister added. Agreeing with Japan, US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said: "We must increase the costs of the regime's behaviour to the point that North Korea must come to the table for credible negotiations." Tillerson said North Korea must not be allowed "to drive a wedge" through allied resolve or solidarity and rejected China and Russia's proposal of stopping military exercises around the Korean peninsula. The United States and close allies agreed on tougher "maritime interdiction" to prevent North Korea from evading nuclear sanctions. Tillerson said at the talks in Vancouver that the allies do not want to interfere with "legitimate shipping" but warned that action would be taken to stop sanctions-busting "ship-to-ship" transfers at sea. The US moved three B-2 bombers along the Korean peninsula ahead of the Winter Olympics in what the US officials said was "deterrent options to maintain regional stability." The US government has sent the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier to the western Pacific including the USS Wasp which reached southern Japan recently. USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier has also been stationed by the US along the Japanese coastline. Tillerson added that countries attending the Vancouver conference aimed to improve the effectiveness of "maximum pressure" campaign on Pyongyang while urging North Korea's principal ally China and Russia to fully implement UN sanctions. "We cannot abide lapses or sanctions evasion," Tillerson said. "We will continue to call attention to, and designate, entities and individuals complicit in such actions," the US secretary of state added.

World should not be naive about North Korea's 'charm offensive': Japan

China&#39;s president Xi Jinping called US president Trump today as the two leaders spoke on the North Korean crisis.

China&#39;s state media said President Xi Jinping told Trump that easing of tensions on the Korean peninsula must continue.

During the phone call, pointed out that the situation on the Korean peninsula has shown some &quot;positive changes&quot;, Xinhua news service reported.

North and South Korean officials have been meeting for th past two weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed the hope to send a delegation for the Winter Olympics to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea next month.

&quot;All sides concerned should make joint efforts to keep up the hard-won momentum for the easing of the situation on the Korean peninsula and create conditions to restart talks,&quot; Xi told Trump during the brief phone call.

Xi also urged Trump to take a &quot;hardline&quot; on trade imbalance between the two countries and to adopt &quot;constructive means&quot; to properly settle economic and trade issue.

Xi also urged Trump to take a "hardline" on trade imbalance between the two countries and to adopt "constructive means" to properly settle economic and trade issue.

China's president Xi Jinping called US president Trump today as the two leaders spoke on the North Korean crisis. China's state media said President Xi Jinping told Trump that easing of tensions on the Korean peninsula must continue. During the phone call, pointed out that the situation on the Korean peninsula has shown some "positive changes", Xinhua news service reported. North and South Korean officials have been meeting for th past two weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed the hope to send a delegation for the Winter Olympics to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea next month. "All sides concerned should make joint efforts to keep up the hard-won momentum for the easing of the situation on the Korean peninsula and create conditions to restart talks," Xi told Trump during the brief phone call. Xi also urged Trump to take a "hardline" on trade imbalance between the two countries and to adopt "constructive means" to properly settle economic and trade issue.

President Xi calls up Trump to talk on North Korea

North Korea today denounced President Donald Trump&#39;s tweeted message that he has a bigger nuclear button than its leader Kim Jong-Un as the &quot;spasm of a lunatic&quot; and the &quot;bark of a rabid dog&quot;.

Kim used his annual New Year address to warn he has a &quot;nuclear button&quot; on his table, sweetening his remarks by expressing an interest in dialogue and taking part in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the South next month.

In response, Trump wrote on Twitter: &quot;Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger &amp; more powerful one than his, and my Button works!&quot;

In Pyongyang&#39;s first reaction to the tweet, the North&#39;s official party newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Tuesday dismissed Trump&#39;s &quot;swaggering&quot; as nothing but the &quot;spasm of a lunatic&quot; frightened by North Korea&#39;s power and the &quot;bark of a rabid dog&quot;.

In the days after Kim&#39;s New Year speech the two Koreas underwent a rapid apparent rapprochement, culminating last week in their first official talks for two years when they agreed Pyongyang would attend the Games.

But the North has since issued a series of warnings against both the South and the United States.

Pyongyang has made apocalyptic threats against its enemies for years, but Trump has repeatedly used highly menacing rhetoric towards the nuclear-armed North, sparking criticism that he is ratcheting up already-high tensions on the Korean peninsula.

He has threatened to rain &quot;fire and fury&quot; on the North, warning Kim he was on a &quot;suicide mission&quot; by developing nuclear missiles.

Trump&#39;s &quot;button&quot; tweet &quot;reflects the desperate mental state of a loser,&quot; Rodong Sinmun said in its commentary, diagnosing him as &quot;suffering from anger disorder and schizophrenia&quot;.&nbsp;

Kim Jong-un used his annual New Year address to warn he has a 'nuclear button' on his table

North Korea today denounced President Donald Trump's tweeted message that he has a bigger nuclear button than its leader Kim Jong-Un as the "spasm of a lunatic" and the "bark of a rabid dog". Kim used his annual New Year address to warn he has a "nuclear button" on his table, sweetening his remarks by expressing an interest in dialogue and taking part in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the South next month. In response, Trump wrote on Twitter: "Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!" In Pyongyang's first reaction to the tweet, the North's official party newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Tuesday dismissed Trump's "swaggering" as nothing but the "spasm of a lunatic" frightened by North Korea's power and the "bark of a rabid dog". In the days after Kim's New Year speech the two Koreas underwent a rapid apparent rapprochement, culminating last week in their first official talks for two years when they agreed Pyongyang would attend the Games. But the North has since issued a series of warnings against both the South and the United States. Pyongyang has made apocalyptic threats against its enemies for years, but Trump has repeatedly used highly menacing rhetoric towards the nuclear-armed North, sparking criticism that he is ratcheting up already-high tensions on the Korean peninsula. He has threatened to rain "fire and fury" on the North, warning Kim he was on a "suicide mission" by developing nuclear missiles. Trump's "button" tweet "reflects the desperate mental state of a loser," Rodong Sinmun said in its commentary, diagnosing him as "suffering from anger disorder and schizophrenia".

North Korea calls Trump nuclear button boast the 'bark of a rabid dog'

Pope Francis said on Monday he was really afraid about the danger of nuclear war and that the world now stood at &quot;the very limit&quot;.

His comment, made as he flew off for a visit to Chile and Peru, came after Hawaii issued a false missile alert that provoked panic in the U.S. state and highlighted the risk of possible unintended nuclear war with North Korea.

Asked if he was worried about the possibility of nuclear war, Pope Francis said: &quot;I think we are at the very limit. I am really afraid of this. One accident is enough to precipitate things.&quot;

He did not mention Hawaii or North Korea.

Pope Francis has often flagged the danger of nuclear warfare and in November he appeared to harden the Catholic Church&rsquo;s teaching against nuclear weapons, saying countries should not stockpile them even for the purpose of deterrence.

As reporters boarded his plane bound for Chile, Vatican officials handed out a photograph taken in 1945 that shows a young Japanese boy carrying his dead brother on his shoulders following the U.S. nuclear attack on Nagasaki.

&quot;I was moved when I saw this. The only thing I could think of adding were the words &#39;the fruit of war&#39;,&quot; Francis said, referring to a caption put on the back of the image.

&quot;I wanted to have it reprinted and distributed because an image like this can be more moving than a thousand words. That is why I wanted to share it with you,&quot; he said.

His comment, made as he flew off for a visit to Chile and Peru, came after Hawaii issued a false missile alert that provoked panic in the U.S. state and highlighted the risk of possible unintended nuclear war with North Korea.

Pope Francis said on Monday he was really afraid about the danger of nuclear war and that the world now stood at "the very limit". His comment, made as he flew off for a visit to Chile and Peru, came after Hawaii issued a false missile alert that provoked panic in the U.S. state and highlighted the risk of possible unintended nuclear war with North Korea. Asked if he was worried about the possibility of nuclear war, Pope Francis said: "I think we are at the very limit. I am really afraid of this. One accident is enough to precipitate things." He did not mention Hawaii or North Korea. Pope Francis has often flagged the danger of nuclear warfare and in November he appeared to harden the Catholic Church’s teaching against nuclear weapons, saying countries should not stockpile them even for the purpose of deterrence. As reporters boarded his plane bound for Chile, Vatican officials handed out a photograph taken in 1945 that shows a young Japanese boy carrying his dead brother on his shoulders following the U.S. nuclear attack on Nagasaki. "I was moved when I saw this. The only thing I could think of adding were the words 'the fruit of war'," Francis said, referring to a caption put on the back of the image. "I wanted to have it reprinted and distributed because an image like this can be more moving than a thousand words. That is why I wanted to share it with you," he said.

Pope warns world is one step away from nuclear war

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday Moscow will not support attempts by Washington to modify the Iran nuclear deal, arguing such a move could also complicate diplomacy over North Korea&#39;s nuclear weapons programme.

Lavrov spoke days after US&nbsp;President Donald Trump said he would waive nuclear sanctions against Iran for the last time to give Washington and its European allies a chance to fix the &quot;terrible flaws&quot; of the 2015 nuclear deal.

&quot;We will not support what the United States is trying to do, changing the wording of the agreement, incorporating things that will be absolutely unacceptable for Iran,&quot; Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow.

Russia&#39;s top diplomat, who stressed that Russia will work to preserve the existing Iran nuclear deal, also warned that the agreement&#39;s collapse could be detrimental to dialogue with North Korea.

Lavrov suggested Pyongyang would look at how Iran had been treated by Washington and wonder if any deal it did with the United States on its own missile and nuclear programme would hold or also be called into question.

&quot;If the deal is put aside and Iran is told, &#39;you keep up with your obligations or we will impose sanctions again&#39;, then you have to see it from North Korea&#39;s point of view,&quot; saidLavrov, stressing the international community should approach the two countries&#39; nuclear programmes in the same manner.

&quot;They are being promised that sanctions will be lifted if they give up their nuclear programme. They will give it up, but no one will lift the sanctions against Pyongyang.&quot;

In separate comments on Monday, Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran&#39;s National Security Council, said Trump&#39;s threats to withdraw from the nuclear deal were fanning &quot;Iranophobia&quot; and meant to deprive Tehran of the agreement&#39;s economic benefits.

&quot;Scaring the international community with the decisions of a mad man is a repetitive tactic that has proved to be ineffective,&quot; Fars news agency quoted Shamkhani as saying.

"We will not support what the United States is trying to do, changing the wording of the agreement, incorporating things that will be absolutely unacceptable for Iran," Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday Moscow will not support attempts by Washington to modify the Iran nuclear deal, arguing such a move could also complicate diplomacy over North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. Lavrov spoke days after US President Donald Trump said he would waive nuclear sanctions against Iran for the last time to give Washington and its European allies a chance to fix the "terrible flaws" of the 2015 nuclear deal. "We will not support what the United States is trying to do, changing the wording of the agreement, incorporating things that will be absolutely unacceptable for Iran," Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow. Russia's top diplomat, who stressed that Russia will work to preserve the existing Iran nuclear deal, also warned that the agreement's collapse could be detrimental to dialogue with North Korea. Lavrov suggested Pyongyang would look at how Iran had been treated by Washington and wonder if any deal it did with the United States on its own missile and nuclear programme would hold or also be called into question. "If the deal is put aside and Iran is told, 'you keep up with your obligations or we will impose sanctions again', then you have to see it from North Korea's point of view," saidLavrov, stressing the international community should approach the two countries' nuclear programmes in the same manner. "They are being promised that sanctions will be lifted if they give up their nuclear programme. They will give it up, but no one will lift the sanctions against Pyongyang." In separate comments on Monday, Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's National Security Council, said Trump's threats to withdraw from the nuclear deal were fanning "Iranophobia" and meant to deprive Tehran of the agreement's economic benefits. "Scaring the international community with the decisions of a mad man is a repetitive tactic that has proved to be ineffective," Fars news agency quoted Shamkhani as saying.

Russia will not support US bid to change Iran nuclear deal: Lavrov

US has moved three B-2 bombers around the Korean Peninsula along with several hundred military personnel ahead of the Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea next month, reports said.

The military build-up comes even as both Koreas engage in talks over the&nbsp;Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Trump administration had earlier postponed military drills with South Korea but had continued its military presence even as it welcomed talks between the two countries.

In a statement, the US government said the deployment is intended to provide leaders with &quot;deterrent options to maintain regional stability.&quot;

The US government has sent the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier to the western Pacific. The Navy called it a &quot;regular scheduled deployment&quot;.

Meanwhile, the USS Wasp reached southern Japan. USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier is also in the region off Japan.&nbsp;The 40,00-ton, 844-foot-long Wasp is an aircraft carrier built in the 80s. It hosts Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighter jets.

In addition, several thousand marines are also deployed in the area. 
 
The North Korean government in a statement said: &quot;Such moves are an unpardonable military provocation chilling the atmosphere for improved inter-Korean relations.&quot;

The military build-up comes even as both Koreas engage in talks over the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

US has moved three B-2 bombers around the Korean Peninsula along with several hundred military personnel ahead of the Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea next month, reports said. The military build-up comes even as both Koreas engage in talks over the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. The Trump administration had earlier postponed military drills with South Korea but had continued its military presence even as it welcomed talks between the two countries. In a statement, the US government said the deployment is intended to provide leaders with "deterrent options to maintain regional stability." The US government has sent the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier to the western Pacific. The Navy called it a "regular scheduled deployment". Meanwhile, the USS Wasp reached southern Japan. USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier is also in the region off Japan. The 40,00-ton, 844-foot-long Wasp is an aircraft carrier built in the 80s. It hosts Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighter jets. In addition, several thousand marines are also deployed in the area. The North Korean government in a statement said: "Such moves are an unpardonable military provocation chilling the atmosphere for improved inter-Korean relations."

US moves aircraft carries, B-2 bombers to Pacific ahead of Winter Olympics in South Korea

North Korea&#39;s principal ally <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/pyeongchang-winter-olympics-2-north-korean-skaters-seek-date-with-destiny-at-peace-games-29172">Russia said today it supports &quot;direct talks&quot;</a> between the two Korean nations to diffuse the missile crisis.

Russian<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/south-korean-president-willing-to-hold-summit-with-kim-jong-un-29072"> foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said</a> Moscow is ready for direct talks even as North and South Korean officials continued to reach out to each other over the next month&#39;s Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Russia, a long-time of ally of Kim&#39;s regime, has consistently opposed US sanctions on North Korea even as Trump requested the Putin-led government to stop oil imports to the country.

Last month, two senior European security experts had said Russian tankers supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in recent months by transferring cargoes at sea, Reuters had reported.

Russia&#39;s foreign ministry and the Russian customs service both refused to comment on the oil supply to North Korea.

The US State Department, in a statement, called on Russia and other UN members to &quot;strictly implement&quot; sanctions on North Korea and to work &quot;more closely together to shut down UN-prohibited activities, including ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum and the transport of coal from North Korea.&quot;

Meanwhile, North Korea is also planning to send a large delegation to the Winter Olympics in addition to the athletes and performance group.&nbsp;

Media reports said South Korea is seeking to form a united women&#39;s ice hockey team for the &nbsp;Winter Olympics, although it hasn&#39;t been confirmed.

Media reports said South Korea is seeking to form a united women's ice hockey team for the Winter Olympics, although it hasn't been confirmed.

North Korea's principal ally Russia said today it supports "direct talks" between the two Korean nations to diffuse the missile crisis. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow is ready for direct talks even as North and South Korean officials continued to reach out to each other over the next month's Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Russia, a long-time of ally of Kim's regime, has consistently opposed US sanctions on North Korea even as Trump requested the Putin-led government to stop oil imports to the country. Last month, two senior European security experts had said Russian tankers supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in recent months by transferring cargoes at sea, Reuters had reported. Russia's foreign ministry and the Russian customs service both refused to comment on the oil supply to North Korea. The US State Department, in a statement, called on Russia and other UN members to "strictly implement" sanctions on North Korea and to work "more closely together to shut down UN-prohibited activities, including ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum and the transport of coal from North Korea." Meanwhile, North Korea is also planning to send a large delegation to the Winter Olympics in addition to the athletes and performance group. Media reports said South Korea is seeking to form a united women's ice hockey team for the Winter Olympics, although it hasn't been confirmed.

Ready to support direct talks between North and South Korea on missile crisis: Russia

The purpose of Olympic games is to spread the philosophy of creating a peaceful and better world.

Many times we have seen sports mixing with the politics and diplomacy, be it India vs Pakistan cricket match or England vs Wales football match, the rivalry is very evident among players as well as among fans.

The sports diplomacy in Olympic games is something which has a global impact. Sports is definitely considered as &#39;Soft Power&#39; and sometimes such diplomacy may bring peace to many conflicting nations.

Sports diplomacy has the capacity to tackle many international political problems and it may provide a way forward but considering the current situation when North Korea was privileged by IOC, the &#39;other&#39; side of sports diplomacy was seen.

Recently, the International Olympic Committee had &#39;extended the deadline&#39; for North Korea&#39;s participation in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea and finally, a few days back, North Korea had announced that it will&nbsp;participate in the event. They are also initiating talks to send an art troupe to the Olympics.

International Olympics Committee (IOC) is very strict when it comes to its rules and guidelines. Recently, they banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympic&nbsp;because it was found guilty of state-sponsored doping, as doping might snag a healthy competition and could hamper the prestige of the Olympics.

Though the doping case may not be a grievous crime against humanity or it might not cause a war.

In past, the nations which were engaged in a war-like situation or violated human rights were banished from the games. Let us recall the events when countries were banned from participating. For example:

In 1920, before World War I, five countries Austria, Hungary, Germany, Turkey and Bulgaria were banned, as they were not invited to the Olympics games in Antwerp, Belgium.

In 1948, after World War II, Germany and Japan were also banned due to their inhumane treatment of prisoners of war.

In 1960, North Korea participated in The Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO) and in the result, the athletes who participated were banned by IOC.

In 1964, a 30 years ban was imposed on South Africa for its racist apartheid regime.

In 1980, the US boycotted Moscow games because of Russian intervention in Afghanistan.

In response to that in 1984, the then-Soviet Union voluntarily did not participate in the Los Angeles Olympic games.

Afghanistan was barred from the 2000 Sydney games for the Taliban regime&rsquo;s discrimination against women.

Kuwait was banned at the 2016 Rio games because of its government&#39;s involvement in Olympic affairs.

IOC stood up for not only for social causes&nbsp;to advocate its stand when it comes to society and humanity, they also remained very firm against corruption as in 2012 London games and in 2014 Sochi games, India was banned due to corruption in the Indian Olympic Association.

When it comes to something which is causing danger to not only humanity but also to the world, nuclear threats, IOC seemed lenient. If banning a country for corruption and barring another for doping is genuine then why a country which is violating the nuclear code of conduct is getting such leverage.

The International Olympic Committee is showing two extremes, one side is appreciated worldwide and the other is questionable.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

&nbsp;

North Korea has violated the nuclear code of conduct constantly but IOC appeared to be lenient. If banning a country for corruption and barring another for doping is genuine then why is North Korea getting such leverage

The purpose of Olympic games is to spread the philosophy of creating a peaceful and better world. Many times we have seen sports mixing with the politics and diplomacy, be it India vs Pakistan cricket match or England vs Wales football match, the rivalry is very evident among players as well as among fans. The sports diplomacy in Olympic games is something which has a global impact. Sports is definitely considered as 'Soft Power' and sometimes such diplomacy may bring peace to many conflicting nations. Sports diplomacy has the capacity to tackle many international political problems and it may provide a way forward but considering the current situation when North Korea was privileged by IOC, the 'other' side of sports diplomacy was seen. Recently, the International Olympic Committee had 'extended the deadline' for North Korea's participation in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea and finally, a few days back, North Korea had announced that it will participate in the event. They are also initiating talks to send an art troupe to the Olympics. International Olympics Committee (IOC) is very strict when it comes to its rules and guidelines. Recently, they banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympic because it was found guilty of state-sponsored doping, as doping might snag a healthy competition and could hamper the prestige of the Olympics. Though the doping case may not be a grievous crime against humanity or it might not cause a war. In past, the nations which were engaged in a war-like situation or violated human rights were banished from the games. Let us recall the events when countries were banned from participating. For example: In 1920, before World War I, five countries Austria, Hungary, Germany, Turkey and Bulgaria were banned, as they were not invited to the Olympics games in Antwerp, Belgium. In 1948, after World War II, Germany and Japan were also banned due to their inhumane treatment of prisoners of war. In 1960, North Korea participated in The Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO) and in the result, the athletes who participated were banned by IOC. In 1964, a 30 years ban was imposed on South Africa for its racist apartheid regime. In 1980, the US boycotted Moscow games because of Russian intervention in Afghanistan. In response to that in 1984, the then-Soviet Union voluntarily did not participate in the Los Angeles Olympic games. Afghanistan was barred from the 2000 Sydney games for the Taliban regime’s discrimination against women. Kuwait was banned at the 2016 Rio games because of its government's involvement in Olympic affairs. IOC stood up for not only for social causes to advocate its stand when it comes to society and humanity, they also remained very firm against corruption as in 2012 London games and in 2014 Sochi games, India was banned due to corruption in the Indian Olympic Association. When it comes to something which is causing danger to not only humanity but also to the world, nuclear threats, IOC seemed lenient. If banning a country for corruption and barring another for doping is genuine then why a country which is violating the nuclear code of conduct is getting such leverage. The International Olympic Committee is showing two extremes, one side is appreciated worldwide and the other is questionable. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

Opinion: When politics & Olympics collide: Games IOC loves to play

The White House on Saturday denied and corrected a quote attributed to President Donald Trump that suggested he had a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

&quot;I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong-Un,&quot; Trump was quoted as telling The Wall Street Journal in an interview on Thursday.&nbsp;

But Press Secretary Sarah Sanders insisted that Trump said &quot;I&#39;d,&quot; not &quot;I&quot; as the newspaper reported.

Both The Wall Street Journal and the White House posted audio recordings of Trump&#39;s remarks on Twitter. These, while not completely clear, appeared to support Sanders&#39; account.

Sanders had earlier tweeted a written message disputing the newspaper&#39;s article.

&quot;President Trump said, I&#39;D probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un of North Korea. I&#39;D -- I&#39;D -- I&#39;D. NOT I!&quot; the message read, with &quot;I&#39;D&quot; in red ink, under a red banner reading &quot;FAKE NEWS.&quot;

Mockingly mimicking the newspaper&#39;s front page, it then reads &quot;THE WALL STREET JOURNAL -- FAKE NEWS IS AT IT AGAIN! -- FALSELY QUOTING PRESIDENT TRUMP.&quot;

Washington and Pyongyang are in a standoff over North Korea&#39;s missile and nuclear programs, which could be used to target the United States and its allies.

Trump has repeatedly insulted the North Korean leader, describing him as mad and a &quot;rocket man.&quot;

Asked if by The Wall Street Journal if he had spoken to Kim, Trump said: &quot;I don&#39;t want to comment on it. I&#39;m not saying I have or haven&#39;t. I just don&#39;t want to comment.&quot;

Trump suggested his variable position on individuals was part of a broader strategy.

But it was not clear how his remarks fitted with his self-described policy of &quot;maximum pressure&quot; on Pyongyang.

In the coming week the United States and Canada are to host a meeting in Vancouver on the nuclear standoff with North Korea, bringing together friendly powers from around the world.

Washington and Pyongyang are in a standoff over North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, which could be used to target the United States and its allies.

The White House on Saturday denied and corrected a quote attributed to President Donald Trump that suggested he had a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. "I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong-Un," Trump was quoted as telling The Wall Street Journal in an interview on Thursday. But Press Secretary Sarah Sanders insisted that Trump said "I'd," not "I" as the newspaper reported. Both The Wall Street Journal and the White House posted audio recordings of Trump's remarks on Twitter. These, while not completely clear, appeared to support Sanders' account. Sanders had earlier tweeted a written message disputing the newspaper's article. "President Trump said, I'D probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un of North Korea. I'D -- I'D -- I'D. NOT I!" the message read, with "I'D" in red ink, under a red banner reading "FAKE NEWS." Mockingly mimicking the newspaper's front page, it then reads "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL -- FAKE NEWS IS AT IT AGAIN! -- FALSELY QUOTING PRESIDENT TRUMP." Washington and Pyongyang are in a standoff over North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, which could be used to target the United States and its allies. Trump has repeatedly insulted the North Korean leader, describing him as mad and a "rocket man." Asked if by The Wall Street Journal if he had spoken to Kim, Trump said: "I don't want to comment on it. I'm not saying I have or haven't. I just don't want to comment." Trump suggested his variable position on individuals was part of a broader strategy. But it was not clear how his remarks fitted with his self-described policy of "maximum pressure" on Pyongyang. In the coming week the United States and Canada are to host a meeting in Vancouver on the nuclear standoff with North Korea, bringing together friendly powers from around the world.

White House pushes back over Trump North Korea quote

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump on Sunday disputed a newspaper&#39;s account of an interview with him last week in which he was quoted as saying he probably has a very good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump said in tweets that in the Wall Street Journal interview on Thursday, he said &quot;I&#39;d probably&quot; have a good relationship with Kim, using a conditional tense.

The White House released a portion of the audio from the interview that it said showed Trump said &quot;I&#39;d.&quot; The Wall Street Journal released its own audio that it said backed up its version of the events.

The Trump comment was key because it suggested he feels he has a good relationship with Kim, who has resisted global pressure to stand down from a series of nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

Trump has derided the North Korean leader as a &ldquo;maniac&rdquo; and referred to him as &ldquo;little rocket man.&rdquo; Kim has responded by calling the U.S. president a &ldquo;mentally deranged U.S. dotard.&rdquo;

Kim has warned the United States that he intends to build a nuclear arsenal capable of hitting the United States, prompting threats of military action by Washington.

In the Wall Street Journal interview, Trump was asked whether he has spoken with the North Korean leader.

&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to comment on it. I&lsquo;m not saying I have or haven&lsquo;t. I just don&rsquo;t want to comment,&quot; he had said.

Trump is spending a long weekend at his oceanfront Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.

&quot;Obviously I didn&rsquo;t say that,&quot; tweeted Trump. &quot;I said &#39;I&rsquo;d have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un,&#39; a big difference. Fortunately we now record conversations with reporters ... and they knew exactly what I said and meant. They just wanted a story. FAKE NEWS!&quot;

A White House official said the delay in publicly disputing the Journal&#39;s account was the result of a failed attempt to get the paper to correct the record.

&quot;The reason there was a delay is because we had several calls and emails with WSJ, starting Friday morning, asking them to issue a correction. They refused and so we pushed out our own clarification,&quot; the official said.

Trump was quoted as saying he had a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in an interview in the Wall Street Journal

US President Donald Trump on Sunday disputed a newspaper's account of an interview with him last week in which he was quoted as saying he probably has a very good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump said in tweets that in the Wall Street Journal interview on Thursday, he said "I'd probably" have a good relationship with Kim, using a conditional tense. The White House released a portion of the audio from the interview that it said showed Trump said "I'd." The Wall Street Journal released its own audio that it said backed up its version of the events. The Trump comment was key because it suggested he feels he has a good relationship with Kim, who has resisted global pressure to stand down from a series of nuclear and ballistic missile tests. Trump has derided the North Korean leader as a “maniac” and referred to him as “little rocket man.” Kim has responded by calling the U.S. president a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard.” Kim has warned the United States that he intends to build a nuclear arsenal capable of hitting the United States, prompting threats of military action by Washington. In the Wall Street Journal interview, Trump was asked whether he has spoken with the North Korean leader. “I don’t want to comment on it. I‘m not saying I have or haven‘t. I just don’t want to comment," he had said. Trump is spending a long weekend at his oceanfront Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. "Obviously I didn’t say that," tweeted Trump. "I said 'I’d have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un,' a big difference. Fortunately we now record conversations with reporters ... and they knew exactly what I said and meant. They just wanted a story. FAKE NEWS!" A White House official said the delay in publicly disputing the Journal's account was the result of a failed attempt to get the paper to correct the record. "The reason there was a delay is because we had several calls and emails with WSJ, starting Friday morning, asking them to issue a correction. They refused and so we pushed out our own clarification," the official said.

Trump denies saying he probably had good relationship with Kim

United States president Donald Trump has said that he has a &quot;good relationship&quot; with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and is open to friendship.

&quot;I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong- Un,&quot; Trump told the media. &quot;I have relationships with people. I think you people are surprised,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

&quot;You&#39;ll see that a lot with me and then all of the sudden somebody&#39;s my best friend. I could give you 20 examples. You could give me 30. I&#39;m a very flexible person,&quot; Trump added.

However, there has been no information on whether the two leaders have had a word recently.&nbsp;

&quot;I don&#39;t want to comment on it. I&#39;m not saying I have or haven&#39;t. I just don&#39;t want to comment&quot;, adding that his attitude towards North Korea is intentional and part of a broader goal.

Washington and Pyongyang have long been having a standoff over North Korea&#39;s missile and nuclear programs which could destroy the United States.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trumps-madman-rhetoric-may-have-scared-north-korea-to-talks-analysts-29272" target="_blank">Donald Trump&#39;s &#39;madman&#39; rhetoric may have scared North Korea to talks: Analysts </a>

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday after the first intra-Korean talks in over two years that the United States was willing to speak to North Korea <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-on-possibility-of-north-korea-talks-says-who-knows-where-it-leads-29176" target="_blank">&quot;under the right circumstances</a>,&quot; although it was far from clear whether this would pay dividends.

Trump has previously stated that that North Korea was &quot;a responsible nuclear nation that loves peace&quot; and that &quot;the US cannot wage a war&quot; against it.

However, there has been no information on whether the two leaders have had a word recently

United States president Donald Trump has said that he has a "good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and is open to friendship. "I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong- Un," Trump told the media. "I have relationships with people. I think you people are surprised," he said. "You'll see that a lot with me and then all of the sudden somebody's my best friend. I could give you 20 examples. You could give me 30. I'm a very flexible person," Trump added. However, there has been no information on whether the two leaders have had a word recently. "I don't want to comment on it. I'm not saying I have or haven't. I just don't want to comment", adding that his attitude towards North Korea is intentional and part of a broader goal. Washington and Pyongyang have long been having a standoff over North Korea's missile and nuclear programs which could destroy the United States. Also read: Donald Trump's 'madman' rhetoric may have scared North Korea to talks: Analysts US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday after the first intra-Korean talks in over two years that the United States was willing to speak to North Korea "under the right circumstances," although it was far from clear whether this would pay dividends. Trump has previously stated that that North Korea was "a responsible nuclear nation that loves peace" and that "the US cannot wage a war" against it.

Trump: 'I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong-Un'

US President Donald Trump&#39;s notoriously threatening rhetoric towards nuclear-armed North Korea - which has drawn comparisons with Richard Nixon&#39;s &quot;madman theory&quot; of diplomacy - may deserve some credit for bringing Pyongyang to talks, analysts have said.

The two Koreas held their first official dialogue in more than two years this week, agreeing the North would send its athletes to next month&#39;s Winter Olympics in the South and paving the way for further discussions.

The meeting represented a significant improvement after months of confrontation, during which Pyongyang carried out multiple missile tests and by far its biggest nuclear detonation to date.

At the same time Trump was blamed for heightening tensions with his threats to rain &quot;fire and fury&quot; on the North - now the title of an incendiary book on his presidency - and assertions that its leader Kim Jong-Un was on a &quot;suicide mission&quot;.

Since Kim inherited power in 2011, North Korea has made rapid progress towards its goal of developing a missile that can deliver an atomic warhead to the United States, which significantly strengthens its negotiating position.

In his New Year speech, Kim said Pyongyang had accomplished &quot;the great, historic cause of perfecting the national nuclear forces&quot;.

But some analysts now say that despite the hermit state&#39;s achievements and the defiance of its propaganda, Trump&#39;s chest-thumping provoked real fears within the North&#39;s elites, pushing them to seek ways to dial down tension.

Alexander Vorontsov, head of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was in Pyongyang for meetings towards the end of last year.

While there, he spoke to officials who &quot;feared that the US was already trying to shape the battlefield for a military operation against the North&quot;, he wrote Wednesday on the website 38North.

They seemed &quot;truly baffled&quot; that the South was unaware Trump was inching closer to war, Vorontsov said, while &quot;Pyongyang, they maintained, is under no such illusions&quot;.

Trump administration officials have repeatedly said that a military action is an option on the table. Washington has held several joint exercises with allies South Korea and Japan this year and deployed three aircraft carriers to the area at the same time.

There was &quot;growing concern&quot; in Pyongyang, Vorontsov said, that &quot;different elements of a combined arms operation against North Korea are being methodically rehearsed and that &#39;zero hour&#39;, as they put it, is not too far away&quot;.

The unpredictable US president is believed by some to be employing the playbook of his predecessor Richard Nixon, whose &quot;madman theory&quot; aimed to scare opponents into concessions by cultivating an image of recklessness.

It was Nixon himself who coined the term, according to his chief of staff H.R. Haldeman, whose autobiography quotes the disgraced president describing his intended message as: &quot;We can&#39;t restrain him when he is angry - and he has his hand on the nuclear button.&quot;

At times, Trump has appeared to echo the approach wholeheartedly.

As his top diplomat sought an opening with Pyongyang in October, the president tweeted: &quot;I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man&quot; - his nickname for Kim.

&quot;Save your energy Rex, we&#39;ll do what needs to be done!&quot; he added.

At the UN General Assembly, he raised the prospect the US would &quot;totally destroy&quot; North Korea, prompting Kim to respond with a personal pledge to &quot;surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire&quot;.

&quot;Never before have two leaders in command of nuclear arsenals more closely evoked a professional wrestling match,&quot; wrote a New Yorker columnist at the time.

Go Myong-Hyun, an analyst at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies, said US actions had &quot;instilled considerable fear in Pyongyang unlike in South Korea&quot;.

&quot;So, they came to talks to secure strategic space,&quot; he said.

North Korea&#39;s refusal to expand the agenda of Tuesday&#39;s talks was intended to draw out the process &quot;to avoid possible US military action&quot;, Go added.

Despite a handful of agreements reached Tuesday, the North Korean delegation did not respond to Seoul&#39;s proposal for talks on family reunions, and said its nuclear and missile programmes - which it says it needs to defend itself - were not up for discussion with the South.

South Korean President Moon Jae-In on Wednesday thanked Trump for his efforts, saying he had played a &quot;very big&quot; role in realising the talks.

But former US secretary of state John Kerry has described Trump&#39;s tweets as creating &quot;chaos politics&quot; and many analysts say that in the long term, the US leader&#39;s approach will be counterproductive.

The president had been &quot;talking to the world&#39;s most dangerous state like a petulant man-child&quot;, Robert Kelly of Pusan National University wrote at the weekend.

&quot;Honestly, Trump just made everything worse, and his rhetoric almost certainly convinced the Kimist elite that going for nukes was wise.&quot;

The 45th president of the United States, though, has no doubts where the credit lies for getting the two Koreas together.

&quot;We were the ones,&quot; he told a cabinet meeting Wednesday. &quot;Without our attitude, that would have never happened.&quot;

Analysts now say that despite the defiance of its propaganda, Trump's chest-thumping provoked real fears within the North Korea's elites

US President Donald Trump's notoriously threatening rhetoric towards nuclear-armed North Korea - which has drawn comparisons with Richard Nixon's "madman theory" of diplomacy - may deserve some credit for bringing Pyongyang to talks, analysts have said. The two Koreas held their first official dialogue in more than two years this week, agreeing the North would send its athletes to next month's Winter Olympics in the South and paving the way for further discussions. The meeting represented a significant improvement after months of confrontation, during which Pyongyang carried out multiple missile tests and by far its biggest nuclear detonation to date. At the same time Trump was blamed for heightening tensions with his threats to rain "fire and fury" on the North - now the title of an incendiary book on his presidency - and assertions that its leader Kim Jong-Un was on a "suicide mission". Since Kim inherited power in 2011, North Korea has made rapid progress towards its goal of developing a missile that can deliver an atomic warhead to the United States, which significantly strengthens its negotiating position. In his New Year speech, Kim said Pyongyang had accomplished "the great, historic cause of perfecting the national nuclear forces". But some analysts now say that despite the hermit state's achievements and the defiance of its propaganda, Trump's chest-thumping provoked real fears within the North's elites, pushing them to seek ways to dial down tension. Alexander Vorontsov, head of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was in Pyongyang for meetings towards the end of last year. While there, he spoke to officials who "feared that the US was already trying to shape the battlefield for a military operation against the North", he wrote Wednesday on the website 38North. They seemed "truly baffled" that the South was unaware Trump was inching closer to war, Vorontsov said, while "Pyongyang, they maintained, is under no such illusions". Trump administration officials have repeatedly said that a military action is an option on the table. Washington has held several joint exercises with allies South Korea and Japan this year and deployed three aircraft carriers to the area at the same time. There was "growing concern" in Pyongyang, Vorontsov said, that "different elements of a combined arms operation against North Korea are being methodically rehearsed and that 'zero hour', as they put it, is not too far away". The unpredictable US president is believed by some to be employing the playbook of his predecessor Richard Nixon, whose "madman theory" aimed to scare opponents into concessions by cultivating an image of recklessness. It was Nixon himself who coined the term, according to his chief of staff H.R. Haldeman, whose autobiography quotes the disgraced president describing his intended message as: "We can't restrain him when he is angry - and he has his hand on the nuclear button." At times, Trump has appeared to echo the approach wholeheartedly. As his top diplomat sought an opening with Pyongyang in October, the president tweeted: "I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man" - his nickname for Kim. "Save your energy Rex, we'll do what needs to be done!" he added. At the UN General Assembly, he raised the prospect the US would "totally destroy" North Korea, prompting Kim to respond with a personal pledge to "surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire". "Never before have two leaders in command of nuclear arsenals more closely evoked a professional wrestling match," wrote a New Yorker columnist at the time. Go Myong-Hyun, an analyst at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies, said US actions had "instilled considerable fear in Pyongyang unlike in South Korea". "So, they came to talks to secure strategic space," he said. North Korea's refusal to expand the agenda of Tuesday's talks was intended to draw out the process "to avoid possible US military action", Go added. Despite a handful of agreements reached Tuesday, the North Korean delegation did not respond to Seoul's proposal for talks on family reunions, and said its nuclear and missile programmes - which it says it needs to defend itself - were not up for discussion with the South. South Korean President Moon Jae-In on Wednesday thanked Trump for his efforts, saying he had played a "very big" role in realising the talks. But former US secretary of state John Kerry has described Trump's tweets as creating "chaos politics" and many analysts say that in the long term, the US leader's approach will be counterproductive. The president had been "talking to the world's most dangerous state like a petulant man-child", Robert Kelly of Pusan National University wrote at the weekend. "Honestly, Trump just made everything worse, and his rhetoric almost certainly convinced the Kimist elite that going for nukes was wise." The 45th president of the United States, though, has no doubts where the credit lies for getting the two Koreas together. "We were the ones," he told a cabinet meeting Wednesday. "Without our attitude, that would have never happened."

Donald Trump's 'madman' rhetoric may have scared North Korea to talks: Analysts

The Winter Olympics due to <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/south-korean-president-willing-to-hold-summit-with-kim-jong-un-29072">begin in&nbsp;Pyeongchang, South Korea next month </a>has been overtaken by events on the Korean peninsula with North Korea set to send a delegation to participate in the games.

North Korean figure <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/north-korea-to-send-team-to-winter-games-south-to-consider-easing-bans-after-talks-28995">skaters &nbsp;Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-Sik </a>who had missed the deadline for the Winter Games may still participate with both Koreas intent on making the &quot;peace games&quot; a success.

The only North Koreans to qualify for the Winter Olympics, Ryom Tae-Ok, 19, and Kim Ju-Sik, 25, missed the registration 30th October deadline and are now relying on a helping hand from the International Olympic Committee(IOC)

Ryom Tae-Ok, 19, and Kim Ju-Sik, 25, competed in figure skating competition in Germany and Finland last year. In fact, the pair competed in skating competition in Oberstdorf, southern Germany as North Korean leader Kim was testing his ballistic missile in the region.

Korean sports officials are hoping that &nbsp;Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-Sik get a nod from the IOC to compete in the games next month.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, North Korea&#39;s IOC representative, Chang Ung said the duo would &quot;probably participate&quot; in Pyeongchang and the IOC on its part is also reportedly providing equipment to the athletes with officials keen to see the duo at the games.

The only North Koreans to qualify for the Winter Olympics, Ryom Tae-Ok, 19, and Kim Ju-Sik, 25, missed the registration 30th October deadline

The Winter Olympics due to begin in Pyeongchang, South Korea next month has been overtaken by events on the Korean peninsula with North Korea set to send a delegation to participate in the games. North Korean figure skaters Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-Sik who had missed the deadline for the Winter Games may still participate with both Koreas intent on making the "peace games" a success. The only North Koreans to qualify for the Winter Olympics, Ryom Tae-Ok, 19, and Kim Ju-Sik, 25, missed the registration 30th October deadline and are now relying on a helping hand from the International Olympic Committee(IOC) Ryom Tae-Ok, 19, and Kim Ju-Sik, 25, competed in figure skating competition in Germany and Finland last year. In fact, the pair competed in skating competition in Oberstdorf, southern Germany as North Korean leader Kim was testing his ballistic missile in the region. Korean sports officials are hoping that Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-Sik get a nod from the IOC to compete in the games next month. Meanwhile, North Korea's IOC representative, Chang Ung said the duo would "probably participate" in Pyeongchang and the IOC on its part is also reportedly providing equipment to the athletes with officials keen to see the duo at the games.

Pyeongchang Winter Olympics: 2 North Korean skaters seek date with destiny at 'peace games'

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