Mary Curtis: The Olympics as Diplomacy

South Korea has offered to talk with the North about joining next month's Olympics

CHARLOTTE, NC – South Korea has offered to talk with the North about joining next month’s Olympics…so could this potentially signal that the Korean Peninsula wants to use the winter games as a diplomatic solution to the nuclear crisis?

The nuclear taunting between the U.S. and North Korea has escalated, with President Trump tweeting that his β€œbutton” is bigger that the North Korean leader. Will South Korea’s paying β€œgood cop” to Trump’s β€œbad cop” be an opening for a compromise?

The Olympics, in the past, have been center stage for political statements that have led to diplomatic discourse – in positive and negatives ways. Will the 2018 winter games bring a breakthrough? Or is North Korea playing for time and using overtures as a way to drive a wedge between South Korea and the U.S.?

Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis offers more perspective.