News
- S. Korea Satisfied with N. Korean Venues for Inter-Korean Events
- South Korea has expressed satisfaction with the facilities in North Korea, where the two Koreas plan to perform a joint cultural event and athlete training ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. An official of the Unification Ministry, who visited the North earlier this week as part of South Korea's inspection team, told reporters Friday that they inspected Kalma International Airport in Wonsan focusing on its runway, taxiway and parking ramp as well as its safety facilities and equipment. The North Korean airfield may be used by South Korean participants in the joint events. The official said the nearby Masikryong Ski Resort also had good slopes and quality of snow, adding gondolas and lifts there were functioning normally. The 12-member South Korean delegation, led by Lee Joo-tae, director-general of the Unification Ministry, returned Thursday from a three-day trip to the North. During their stay, they also checked the concert hall and other facilities at Mount Geumgang on the North's east coast.
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2018-01-26
News
- Two N. Korean Para Skiers Complete Registration for Paralympic Participation
- Two North Korean skiers have completed their registration to the International Paralympic Committee(IPC) to compete at the upcoming Winter Paralympics in South Korea. Shin Young-soon, the head of the U.S. civic group Kinsler Foundation, said on Thursday that the two North Korean para Nordic skiers -- Ma Yu-chol and Kim Jong-hyon -- have made their first IPC event appearance at the World Para Nordic Skiing World Cup in Oberried, Germany. Shin said in a phone interview that Ma and Kim recently made their official debut at the World Cup in Germany and have completed the IPC's athlete registration and will compete at the PyeongChang Paralympics after receiving wild cards. The IPC's final decision on the two North Korean skiers will likely be announced next Thursday. The IPC is expected to discuss North Korea's Winter Paralympic Games participation issue at its executive meeting in Bonn, Germany, from Friday to Sunday.
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2018-01-26
News
- US Supports Inter-Korean Talks on Winter Olympics
- The U.S. State Department says that Washington supports inter-Korean talks about the Olympics but it is not the right time to hold direct dialogue with the North. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said during a news briefing on Thursday that the U.S. would certainly support those kinds of contacts and conversations, referring to the ongoing inter-Korean contact over the upcoming Winter Olympics. The spokeswoman added that it's good to have conversations, and the U.S. supports and looks forward to having a terrific Olympics in Korea. But on the potential for direct talks on the North's denuclearization, she said that it is not the right time yet. She added that North Korea knows it has to be serious about denuclearization and the U.S. is not seeing that.
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2018-01-26
News
- N. Korean Officials Begin Inspecting Olympic Facilities in S. Korea
- A group of North Koreans has begun field inspections in South Korea to prearrange a visit by a large delegation that will attend the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. After arriving in the South through the western inter-Korean border Thursday morning, the eight-member advance team, led by North Korea's sports ministry official Yoon Yong-bok, visited the Inje Speedium in Inje County, Gangwon Province, where North Korean cheerleaders are expected to stay. Later in the afternoon they visited the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung City to check on venues where North Korean athletes may compete. During their three-day stay, the North Koreans will be inspecting accommodations and venues for their athletes, cheerleaders and taekwondo demonstrators, who are expected to perform during the Winter Games. They were accompanied by 12 North Korean women’s ice hockey players, who will make a unified team with South Koreans to compete at PyeongChang, along with their coach and two assistants.
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2018-01-25
News
- South and North Korean Women's Ice Hockey Athletes Meet on Thursday
- South and North Korean women's ice hockey players met for the first time on Thursday, forming the first inter-Korean sports team in the history of the Olympic Games. The North Korean women's ice hockey squad, which crossed the border to the South earlier in the day, arrived at an ice rink in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province where the South Korean training base is located. Speaking on behalf of the team, the North Korean team's coach Pak Chol-ho, said they were happy to be united with the South Korean players and that there would be good results if the athletes work together in the limited amount of time before the start of the Games. After a photo session, Pak handed flowers to the South Korean team's coach Sarah Murray, who thanked him in Korean. The two Koreas will begin joint training sessions next week.
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2018-01-25
News
- N. Korean Ice Hockey Players Arrive in S. Korea
- North Korean ice hockey players have arrived in South Korea to form an inter-Korean women’s ice hockey team for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The 15-member ice hockey team comprising 12 athletes, a head coach and two support staffers crossed the inter-Korean transit office at Dorasan train station on the western border at around 9:20 a.m. Thursday. The team will head to Jincheon, 90 kilometers south of Seoul, where the South Korean training base is located. The North Korean players will join the South Korean ice hockey team for joint training before a friendly match with Sweden on February fourth. A separate North Korean delegation also visited South Korea on Thursday for a three-day trip to prearrange accommodations for North Korean athletes, cheerleaders and Taekwondo demonstrators during the PyeongChang Olympics. The eight-member advance team, led by Yoon Yong-bok, a deputy director at North Korea‘s Sports Ministry, first headed to Gangwon Province to inspect lodgings for North Korean cheerleaders. One potential site mentioned was the Inje Speedium in Inje County. Afterwards, they are expected to check out major Olympic venues in Gangneung, including the Ice Arena, Athletes' Village and Hockey Center. On Friday, they are slated to inspect the International Broadcast Center, PyeongChang Olympic Stadium, Alpensia Cross-Country Center and Yongpyong Ski Resort. On the final day of their trip on Saturday, the North's officials will head to Seoul to look at a hotel where their Taekwondo athletes can stay. They will then visit MBC's headquarters in Sangam-dong in western Seoul, which is a potential venue for the North's Taekwondo demonstration.
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2018-01-25
News
- Team Korea Launches, Eyes 4th-Place Finish at PyeongChang Olympics
- South Korean athletes who will compete at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics have vowed to do their best to live up to expectations for the host country. They made the pledge Wednesday during the inaugural ceremony for Team Korea held by the Korea Sports and Olympics Committee in Seoul. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon attended the event to encourage the athletes, and expressed hoped that PyeongChang will be an unforgettable Olympics for them. Around six-thousand-500 athletes from more than 90 countries are expected to participated in the Winter Games, which will kick off on February ninth for a 17-day run. It's expected to be the biggest Winter Olympics ever in terms of the size of the participant countries. The 2014 Sochi Winter Games brought together 88 countries. As host country, South Korea is aiming to clinch 20 medals, including eight golds, and a fourth-place finish.
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2018-01-24
News
- Presidential Officials Help Prepare for PyeongChang Olympics
- Several of President Moon Jae-in's aides have joined a pan-government task force created to assist preparations for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. An official from the presidential office told reporters Wednesday that Kwon Hyuk-ki, the head of Cheong Wa Dae’s Chunchugwan press center, and two others are working with the government’s joint assistance team. Launched last week, the joint assistant team is led by Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung, and involves 20 other officials from various government agencies, including the Unification Ministry, the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
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2018-01-24
News
- Next N. Korean Advance Team to Visit S. Korea Thursday
- Another North Korean delegation will visit South Korea on Thursday to prearrange accommodations for North Korean athletes, cheerleaders and taekwondo demonstrators during the PyeongChang Olympics. Seoul’s Unification Ministry said the eight-member advance team, led by Yoon Yong-bok, a deputy director at North Korea‘s Sports Ministry, is scheduled to cross the border in the morning via the western Gyeongui Line . They will first head to Gangwon Province to inspect lodging for North Korean cheerleaders. One potential site mentioned was the Inje Speedium in Inje County. Afterwards, it is likely they will check out major Olympic venues in Gangneung, including the Ice Arena, Athletes' Village and Hockey Center. On Friday, they are slated to inspect the International Broadcast Center, PyeongChang Olympic Stadium, Alpensia Cross-Country Center and Yongpyeong Ski Resort. On Saturday, the final day of their trip, the North's officials will head to Seoul to look at a hotel where their taekwondo athletes can stay before visiting MBC in Sangam-dong, Seoul. The Unification Ministry said the Sangam Hall of MBC is the only venue where the North's taekwondo demonstrators will perform. Meanwhile, 12 North Korean women’s ice hockey players, who will team up with South Koreans for a unified team at the PyeongChang Games, will accompany the advance team along with their coach and assistants.
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2018-01-24
News
- Moon Calls for Bipartisan Cooperation over PyeongChang Olympics
- President Moon Jae-in has called for cooperation from opposition parties for the success of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Presidential Spokesman Park Soo-hyun said in a media briefing Wednesday that the president emphasized bipartisan cooperation ahead of the forthcoming PyeongChang Games during a meeting with his secretaries earlier in the day. Noting his belief that the ruling and opposition parties are on the same page in their wish to realize unity and peace through sports, Moon ordered his aides to do their best to draw cooperation from the National Assembly. He mentioned arranging a meeting among the floor leaders of the rival parties at the top office as one such effort, reiterating his remarks from a meeting with the floor leadership of the ruling Democratic Party on Tuesday. According to those at Wednesday’s meeting, Moon expressed regret over the lack of bipartisan cooperation for the PyeongChang Games compared with previous international events the country hosted.
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2018-01-24
News
