Will visit by NK leader’s sister pave way for inter-Korean summit?

North Korea informed the South on Wednesday that leader Kim Jong-un’s younger sister Kim Yo-jong, first vice director of the Central Committee of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, would be part of the high-level delegation for the February 9-22 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Several experts here saw the move as a message from the North of its desire to mend ties with South Korea, as Kim Yo-jong’s remarks could be taken to directly represent Kim Jong-un’s current position on inter-Korean relations, given her ties to the young dictator.
“There is a possibility that Kim Yo-jong’s visit could lead to an inter-Korean summit after the PyeongChang Olympics because the meeting would symbolise recovery of inter-Korean ties and Kim Jong-un stressed in his New Year’s address that he is strongly willing to patch up ties with South Korea,” Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul, told The Korea Herald.
If the two Koreas decide to hold a bilateral summit after the Winter Games, it would mark the third of its kind: The first was held between President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on June 15, 2000 and the second summit was held between President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on October 4, 2007.
The summits are viewed as symbols of peace on the Korean Peninsula, as statements issued following the meetings were aimed at building cooperation between the two Koreas. But Koh said that both Koreas would have to reach some sort of consensus on the North Korean nuclear issue, citing that previous bilateral summits were held after progress had been made.
“The 2000 summit was held after the so-called ‘Perry Process’, a 1999 proposal for a three-stage resolution to North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction. In 2007, the February 13 agreement which came as a result of the six-party talks is believed to have triggered the second summit” added Koh. 
The Perry Process included freezing North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes and normalising relations between Pyongyang and Washington. But the vision fizzled out with the George W Bush administration in the US in 2001.
Cheong Wa Dae has expressed willingness to start a more solid dialogue with Pyongyang, using the Winter Olympics as a stepping stone for such opportunities. The liberal Moon administration believes the Winter Games could pave the way for bringing North Korea to the table for denuclearisation.
South Korean daily Joongang Ilbo reported on Thursday, citing a source close to Cheong Wa Dae, that the presidential office is considering sending a special envoy to the North if the high-level North Korean delegation delivers a personal message through Kim Jong-un.
However, some experts argue that while Kim Yo-jong’s visit may lay out the foundation for smoother inter-Korean ties after the PyeongChang Olympics, it is too early to link it to a summit. 
“Kim Yo-jong’s visit can be seen as a sign of willingness from Kim Jong-un to mend broken inter-Korean ties, but a bilateral summit is something that involves a bigger picture,” said Lee Woo-young, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.