Nuclear suspicion overshadows Kim's talk of Olympic unity

South Korea looks to be getting the Peace Olympics it promised and promoted. A prospect which even just last month looked uncertain due to the continued threats being volleyed across the border from North Korea and a year of rising tensions on the peninsula at the end of which Kim Jong-un declared his nuclear dream had been realised.

And it was Kim Jong-un himself who engineered this thaw. It was in his New Year address that the North Korean leader extended an olive branch to the South, indicating he would like to talk, and send a team to the Winter Olympics.

Here we are three weeks later and not only is North Korea coming to the Games, they are marching out at the opening ceremony with South Korea, the hosts, under a unified flag. They will be sending 22 athletes, only two of which actually qualified, and 12 of whom will form part of a joint women's ice hockey team.

It has all happened very quickly and seemingly without question. Kim Jong-un’s country, which has continued to violate international laws and threatened world destruction with its nuclear weapons, will be allowed to share a platform with the very countries it has terrorised with its relentless pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.

There must be some belief in the South Korean government that engagement with the North, even without compromise or concession, is better than the continuation of verbal conflict. But where does this leave us after the Games once Kim Jong-un’s nuclear loving nation has enjoyed its moment in the spotlight?

The North Korean leader also made it clear in that New Year speech that he has no intention of giving up his nuclear weapons and indeed promised that this would be the year his team of engineers would start the mass production of warheads. They’ve mastered the technology he claims, now it’s time to increase the arsenal.

This means we could see the launch of more missiles and potentially a seventh nuclear test in the coming months. Kim Jong-un views these as no more provocative than the military drills conducted routinely by the United States and South Korea. Drills he describes as a dress rehearsal for invasion.

Only if there was to be a postponement to the drills - the next one is due to take place at the end of March - might we see the real prospect of Kim Jong-un entertaining a freeze to his nuclear programme? This is the dual suspension solution advocated by China and Russia.

The United States agreed to delay the drills until after the Winter Paralympics but there’s no sign of a willingness to postpone them indefinitely. This is an administration who has assembled its nuclear capable bombers on Guam, and has repeatedly talked about having a military option on the table.

Oh, and did I mention North Korea has announced it will be holding a military parade on the eve of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony? This just so happens to be the 70th anniversary of the Korean People's Army.

Nice timing for a massive display of its weapons and unadulterated adulation of Kim Jong-un. It’s no wonder some people here in South Korea have started to call these the Pyongyang Games, instead of the Pyeongchang Games.