Who would have thought that seating arrangements in a skybox at the Olympic opening ceremony could have generated such drama?

The photos from the Olympics that have gotten by far the most scrutiny in the U.S. are those of Mike and Karen Pence sitting next to Moon Jae-in and Kim Jung-sook, one row—an arms-length—in front of Kim Yong Nam and Kim Yo Jong.

On one level, the seating arrangement captured the political reality that the American and North Korean guests were the most politically consequential for the Moon administration.

And some reportinghas suggested that Pence made the choice to