Too early to say Winter Olympics will have any traction: Mattis on North Korea
Kim Yo Jong at Winter Olympics
The US defense secretary wasn't sure about the exact nature of the North Korean regime and its intentions
Even as the peace Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea got underway last week, US defense secretary Jim Mattis said it was "strange" to see that in the midst of the games North Korean leader Kim conducted a military parade.
In a bid to further the peace process in the Korean peninsula, North and South Korean athletes entered the Pyeongchang Olympic stadium together to the amazement of the world.
"Clearly it is too early to say... if that is going to have any traction once the Olympics are over," the US defense secretary said, adding, "in the midst of all of this, he (Kim Jong Un) ran a military parade that highlighted his ballistic missiles."
However, the US defense secretary wasn't sure about the exact nature of the North Korean regime and its intentions to take the peace process forward.
"Clearly it is too early to say... if that is going to have any traction once the Olympics are over," Mattis added.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong has been attending the winter games in Pyeongchang, however, top US officials including vice-president Pence avoided meeting the North Korean leader's sister.
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"It is a very strange time if, in fact, he is trying to show a warming to a country that he has attacked repeatedly as an American puppet," said the US defence chief.
Even as the US kept its distance, South Korean president Moon Jae sat next to Kim's sister at a concert in Seoul which included musicians from Pyongyang.
Reports said that Yo Jong extended an invite to Moon to visit Pyongyang, howeverthe South Korean government said it hasn't been officially communicated.