Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon says he is confident the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics will go off without any major security hitches.

Lee gave his assurance at a meeting with South Korean business people in Athens, Greece on Monday. He said he believes North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is sensible enough not to conduct any provocations during South Korea's hosting of the global sporting event.

Lee said there have been some positive signals from the North, raising the prospect of a successful PyeongChang Olympics, but declined to give details, saying it is too early to disclose them.  

The PyeongChang Games, he said, could rather become a good opportunity for Kim to send a message to the world that his regime wants peace, not cause anxiety.

The prime minister also cited remarks made by Chang Ung, the North's delegate to the International Olympic Committee(IOC), who said politics and Olympics are two separate issues and that there won’t be a significant problem during the Winter Games.