News
- S. Korean Paralympic Team Enters Athletes Village in Pyeongchang
- South Korean athletes taking part in the PyeongChang Paralympic Games have officially checked into the athletes' village in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province. Team Korea attended a joint welcoming ceremony at the village with athletes of the Czech Republic Tuesday morning. Attending the event were 62 South Korean officials and athletes competing in four events, ice hockey, biathlon, cross-country skiing and snowboarding. The full Korean delegation to the Winter Paralympics consists of 47 officials and 36 athletes contending in all six sporting events for a total of 83 members. Team Korea is aiming for one gold, one silver and two bronze medals for a record finish at tenth place.
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2018-03-06
News
- N. Korea's Paralympic Delegation to Arrive in South on Wed.
- North Korean athletes and officials participating in the PyeongChang Paralympic Winter Games will arrive in South Korea on Wednesday morning via the overland Gyeongui Line. A South Korean Unification Ministry official told reporters Tuesday that the 24-member delegation will head toward the athletes' village shortly after crossing the border. The official said that out of the 24 delegates, eight are people with disabilities, including six athletes, one member of the North's Paralympic Committee and a sign language interpreter. During working-level talks last Tuesday, the two Koreas agreed a North Korean Paralympic delegation would cross over to participate in the Winter Paralympics for the first time in history. The North's initial suggestion to send over cheerleaders and an arts troupe was dropped during the negotiation process.
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2018-03-06
News
- Hundreds Arrive at PyeongChang Paralympics Athletes' Village
- With four days to go before the opening of the PyeongChang Paralympic Games, more than 900 athletes, coaches, and support staff have already entered the athletes’ village as of Monday. Organizers say around one-thousand-500 people representing 49 countries, including 570 athletes, are expected to participate in the Winter Paralympics. Most of the members of Team Korea have already entered the athletes’ village, except for the curling team, which is training in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. A 20-member athletic delegation from North Korea, along with four officials, will also visit South Korea Wednesday to take part in the Games. The PyeongChang Paralympics opens on March eighth and continues through the 18th.
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2018-03-05
News
- N. Korea Names Athletes and Delegates to Paralympics
- North Korea has informed South Korea that it will send a delegation of athletes and Paralympic Committee officials to the PyeongChang Paralympic Winter Games that will kick off on Friday. Unification Ministry Spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said Monday that Pyongyang conveyed through the liaison channel at the truce village of Panmunjeom the list of North Koreans that will arrive in the South on Wednesday via an overland route. The North's 20-member delegation will be led by Jong Hyon, a vice chairman of the central committee of the Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled(KFPD). The four-member delegation of officials from the North's Paralympic Committee will be headed by Kim Mun-chol, chairman of the KFPD. The North's delegation is set to return to home next Thursday, after competing in events on Saturday and Wednesday. The PyeongChang Paralympic Games will begin on Friday for a ten-day run.
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2018-03-05
News
- Paralympic Games Torch Relay Planned in Seoul over Weekend
- The torch relay for the PyeongChang Paralympic Winter Games is set to take place in Seoul over the weekend. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency says it will mobilize hundreds of police officers to control traffic on routes for the torch relay planned for Saturday and Sunday. The torch is scheduled to leave the Peace Gate of the Olympic Park in Songpa District and arrive at the Olympic Stadium in the southeastern district of the capital 8 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday, the flame will be carried along a route from the Olympic Stadium to Cheonggye Plaza in downtown Seoul. Police advised motorists to avoid the torch relay route and take detours. Close to 200 torchbearers, including individuals with physical disabilities, ambassadors and Paralympic medalists are participating in the relay. A variety of cultural events will also be held to celebrate the Paralympics which will kick off Friday for a nine-day run.
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2018-03-03
News
- Two Koreas to Jointly March in Paralympics Opening Ceremony
- Anchor: South and North Korean athletes will march together for a second time this year at the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Paralympic Winter Games under a unified flag. The move comes amid a thaw in inter-Korean relations and is a reprise of their joint march last month at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Kim Soyon has more. Report: An official of South Korea's Paralympic Committee said Saturday that the two Koreas will again march together in the opening ceremony on Friday. The decision is in accordance with agreements made through inter-Korean dialogue and by the International Paralympic Committee. The official said that details will be discussed with North Korea's athlete delegation arriving in South Korea on Wednesday. It will be the first time ever for the two Koreas to jointly enter the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, summer or winter. The North sent athletes to the 2012 London Summer Paralympics and the 2016 Rio Summer Paralympic Games where the two Koreas marched separately. North Korea did not take part in the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Russia. As in the Olympics, at the Paralympics opening ceremony the two Koreas will enter last among the 49 countries taking part. The flag bearers will be decided through talks with the North Korean delegation but most likely, the two individuals will be a South Korean female and a North Korean male athlete. Just two North Korean athletes, skiers Ma You-chul and Kim Jung-hyun, are competing in PyeongChang. So inevitably, a South Korean female will partner up with either of the two as the flag bearer. An official at the South Korean Paralympic Committee said the joint flag bearers should be determined through working-level inter-Korean talks. Kim Soyon, KBS World Radio News.
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2018-03-03
News
- S. Korean Paralympic Athletes Vow Their Best at PyeongChang
- President Moon Jae-in and First Lady Kim Jung-sook offered best wishes to South Korea's Paralympic athletes at a Seoul ceremony Friday, saying the athletes are already heroes regardless of what their specific event results will be. The athletes are headed to the upcoming Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang, opening Friday March ninth. A total of 570 athletes from 49 countries are scheduled to compete, making 2018 the biggest ever Paralympics. South Korea is shooting for a top-ten finish in the games with at least one gold medal, one silver and two bronzes.
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2018-03-02
News
- Paralympic Torch Coming to Seoul for First Time in 30 Years
- The torch for the PyeongChang Paralympic Winter Games will be arriving in Seoul on Saturday. It will be the first time in 30 years for the torch to return to the capital after Seoul hosted the 1988 Paralympics. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on Friday that just like the recently ended PyeongChang Winter Games, a torch relay will take place along two courses for two days in the city. There will be 192 torchbearers, including individuals with physical disabilities, ambassadors and former Paralympic medalists. A variety of cultural events will also be held in Seoul over the weekend to celebrate the Paralympics. The Games will kick off next Friday for a nine-day run.
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2018-03-02
News
- Team Korea for Paralympics to Arrive in Pyeongchang Saturday
- Most of the South Korean athletes taking part in the PyeongChang Paralympic Winter games are scheduled to arrive at the Olympic athletes' village Saturday. The team arriving Saturday includes athletes competing in five events: ice hockey, alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing and snowboarding. Team Korea's broader Olympic delegation includes athletes from a sixth event: wheelchair curling. The athletes plan to launch a ceremony at the Sejong Center in Seoul on Friday. South Korea's Paralympic athletes are aiming for one gold, one silver and two bronze medals and they are targeting a record finish of tenth place overall.
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2018-03-01
News
- Homeland Security Secretary to Head US Delegation to Paralympics
- The White House announced Tuesday that U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen has been picked to head the U.S. delegation to the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics. In Seoul, an official of the presidential office told reporters that the government welcomes the announcement and that Nielsen’s upcoming visit is regarded to be significant given that she is a senior official who has strong influence in the U.S. administration. Given that North Korea will also send a delegation to the Paralympics, attention is being drawn to whether the upcoming games, which open Friday, will see any interaction between the U.S. and North Korea.
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2018-02-28
News
