CNN reporter Will Ripley said Monday after that the Winter Olympics this weekend proved a “diplomatic win” for Kim Jong-Un and his regime.
He also said it was “kind of a loss” for the United States.
WATCH:
“Well, if you’re Kim Jong-un, it was a diplomatic win,” Ripley said.
“He sent his telegenic younger sister Kim Yo-jong here to Pyeongchang. She delivered a letter inviting South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in to visit North Korea. He accepted on principle. They had photo ops at hockey games. They had dinners, smiles, handshakes. It was optics, everything Kim Jong-Un wanted. And if you’re South Korea’s president, it was also a win because he ran on the platform of engaging with North Korea and now he potentially could. He’s already had the biggest diplomatic moment of the Kim Jong-un era and he might be heading to North Korea in the coming months.” (RELATED: Trump: ‘We’ll Always Be Number One’ With Our Nuclear Arsenal)
“If you’re the United States, however, kind of a loss,” he said.
“Vice President Pence came here talking very strongly against North Korea. He met with defectors, he brought the father of Otto Warmbier, the American student who died after being released from North Korean custody.”
“He called on South Korea publicly to disengage completely with North Korea after the Olympics. South Korea obviously is not disengaging,” Ripley continued. “They’re doing the opposite, so Vice President Pence had some discussions and decided, ‘Okay, the U.S. can endorse this engagement this as long as certain conditions are met.’ That maximum pressure continues and no money is paid under the table to North Koreans.”