President Moon Jae-in’s de facto transition team State Policy Planning and Advisory Committee says that the government will seek to encourage inter-Korean exchanges in taekwondo and other sports as a key state task.
 
The committee’s spokesman Park Kwang-on announced the plan in a regular news briefing on Friday, noting the president’s proposal to form a joint inter-Korean team for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. The spokesman said that Moon's proposal has raised public expectations that greater sports exchanges across the border will help promote inter-Korean reconciliation and unity.
 
Park said that inter-Korean relations were greatly improved by various sporting exchanges, such as the formation of unified teams for international sporting events and joint entry to Olympic Games in the past. He noted, however, that these cross-border sports exchanges have remained suspended over the past ten years.
 
The spokesman said that the new government will place a policy priority on boosting sports exchanges with North Korea as a way to improve inter-Korean ties. He explained that the government will first encourage cross-border visits by taekwondo athletes from both sides, and joint training and academic activities with the help of the South Korean World Taekwondo Federation and the North Korean International Taekwondo Federation. 
 

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