FOREIGN POLICY/NORTH KOREA/SPORTS/STATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “North Korea’s declaration at the end of the Winter Olympics of its willingness to start a dialogue with the United States offered a sliver of optimism that the political pageantry of the Games would lead to more substantial results.
A day after the closing ceremony, President Trump responded that the United States, too, was interested in talking…
But Mr. Trump’s hint that talks might be possible came just hours before word emerged of a potential complication to any peace efforts: the looming departure of Joseph Y. Yun, one of the U.S. State Department’s most knowledgeable and experienced diplomats on North Korea. Mr. Yun abruptly announced his plan to retire by the end of the week, a departure that could undermine any chances of talks taking place, much less progress being made on curbing North Korea’s nuclear programs.
Mr. Yun, the top U.S. envoy on North Korea, helped negotiate the release of Otto Warmbier, the American college student who was imprisoned by North Korea and died days after returning home in a coma last year. He has been a strong advocate for a diplomatic — rather than military — resolution to the North Korean nuclear crisis.
It was not clear why Mr. Yun had decided to retire so suddenly. He did not immediately return a request for comment.”
-Motoko Rich, “Trump Opens Door, Just Slightly, to Talking With North Korea,” The New York Times online, Feb. 27, 2018