Mike Pence missed a diplomatic opportunity at the Winter Olympics

The opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea was a miraculous site.  The lights.  The fireworks.  The dancing.  The choreography.  It was everything we have come to expect from a world-class Olympic Games, a coordinated and ritzy show on behalf the entire planet.

The Games in Pyeongchang, however, do stand out for one big reason: the massive sporting event is taking the form of a detente between North and South Korea, a minor easing of inter-Korean tensions that have plagued the bilateral relationship since the previous South Korean government shut down the joint industrial complex in Kaesong and Pyongyang stopped answering South Korea’s calls.  South Korean President Moon Jae-in worked hard behind-the-scenes with the International Olympic Committee to convince the North Koreans to send athletes to participate in the competition.  He is hoping beyond all hope that a little glad-handing and symbolic deference to Kim Jong-nam (the North’s head of state) and Kim Yo-jong (North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s sister) will edge a Korean rapprochement a little further down the field.