2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games

IOC Welcomes N. Korea's Participation in PyeongChang Olympics: The International Olympic Committee(IOC) has welcomed the decision to have North Korea send its athletes to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement that the North’s participation is a “great step forward in the Olympic spirit.” He added the IOC will wait for the official reports and proposals from the inter-Korean high-level talks, during which the North agreed on its participation in the sporting event to be hosted by the South next month. The IOC will discuss the number and names of athletes from the North and the format of their participation, including flag, anthem and ceremonies. North Korea's IOC representative, Chang Ung, is expected to meet with Bach at IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on Wednesday to discuss which sports events North Korea can participate in using wild card options.; 2018-01-10
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Sojourn Period Extended for Foreigners Visiting S. Korea for Olympics: Foreigners visiting South Korea for the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games can enjoy an extra month of stay in the country. The Justice Ministry on Monday said it decided to extend the sojourn period of 90 days by up to 30 days for foreigners who come to South Korea to check out the Winter sporting event. Visitors who wish to extend their stay must submit to the Korea Immigration Service a request form along with required documents, including tickets for sports events. Foreigners who visit South Korea with a short-term visa or via no-visa entry can stay in the nation for up to 90 days. With the latest step, they will be able to stay for up to 120 days if their request to remain longer is accepted.; 2018-01-08
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PyeongChang Spokeswoman: Working to Showcase Korea to the World": The organizing committee of the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games has assured the successful hosting of the sporting event in South Korea. In an interview with KBS World Radio's Korea 24, the committee Spokeswoman Nancy Park said that preparations for the winter sporting event have been made thoroughly. As the Olympic torch relay is traveling throughout the country, Park said that South Korea is now getting ready to welcome the athletes. She expressed hope that the sporting event held in the alpine city will provide a chance to show the world the greatness of Korean culture- through food, music and technology. While noting that the organizing committee is working to showcase Korea to the world, the spokeswoman also ensured the safety and security of all athletes and visitors during the event next month. She said the committee is working with 19 domestic organizations and international groups to assure stakeholders around the world that the month-long games will be safe. The interview with Park will be aired during Tuesday's Korea 24 at 19:10 Korea Standard Time.; 2018-01-02
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PyeongChang Olympic Committee Provides Sneak Peek of Awards Ceremony: The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games on Wednesday unveiled the specifics for the Games' awards ceremony. In a press conference in Seoul, the committee revealed the ceremonial music as well as the design of the podium and garments that the presenters would be wearing during the awarding ceremonies. When they go on the podium to be awarded their medals, medalists will receive a doll of a mascot of the games wearing a traditional Korean hat from staff wearing Korea's traditional attire, hanbok. The podium will take on the shape of the traditional Korean sliding roof. Throughout the PyeongChang Games, awards ceremonies will be held 103 times for the Olympics and 80 times for the Paralympic Games.; 2017-12-27
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Fmr USFK Chiefs Positively Assess Possible Delay of Joint Exercises: Former heads of the U.S. troops in South Korea have positively assessed the possible delay of joint military exercises between South Korea and the U.S. to avoid them overlapping with the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The Voice of America(VOA) on Wednesday quoted former U.S. Forces Korea(USFK) Commander Burwell Bell as saying that the postponement is a “legitimate and sound” idea, noting it is not good to conduct military exercises when thousands of athletes from over 100 countries are arriving in South Korea. However, he said the exercises should be carried out “to their full range of requirements” immediately after the closing of the Olympics. Former USFK Chief James Thurman also told VOA that it is necessary to consider rescheduling the drills because of the Olympics. However, he also warned against the potential move sending out the wrong message, that is, the two allies are trying to appease the Pyongyang regime, emphasizing that such attempts have never worked before. Another former USFK chief John Tilelli also expressed similar views, although underscored that the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises are integral elements of the alliance’s preparedness.; 2017-12-27
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Gov't: Movements Detected Suggesting N. Korea is Preparing for Paralympics: The Unification Ministry says there has been movement suggesting that North Korea is preparing to participate in the PyeongChang Paralympic Winter Games. A ministry official told reporters on Tuesday that nothing has been decided on whether North Korea will take part in next year's Paralympics, but there has been some movement to prepare for the games in the reclusive state. The official did not elaborate, only saying that overseas training by the North has been spotted. The official stressed that there is a need to confirm whether or not such activity is off-season training. The official said the North could use the Olympics as a chance to change its ties with South Korea and the South, on its part, believes that the North’s participation will provide a good opportunity to improve inter-Korean relations. Earlier in May, Pyongyang submitted an unofficial letter of intent to participate in the PyeongChang Paralympics to the International Paralympic Committee. However, the North has not taken any further steps for official participation since then.; 2017-12-26
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Less than 50 Days to PyeongChang Winter Olympics: With the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics now less than 50 days away, all preparations for the games have now been completed. Stadiums were constructed early on, with successful trial runs also held through Olympic test events. Twelve arenas and the PyeongChang Olympic Plaza where the opening and closing ceremonies will be held were completed three months prior to the games' opening. Two athletes’ villages were also unveiled earlier this month, and the organizing committee is set to open the Media Center on January 9. Most of the snow events will take place in PyeongChang and all ice events will be in Gangneung, while alpine skiing races will be held in Jeongseon. A bullet train service connecting Seoul and Gangneung in Gangwon Province has also opened. Using this line, PyeongChang can be reached in just 90 minutes from Seoul's Cheongnyangni station. Team Korea aims to win eight gold, four silver and eight bronze medals for a fourth-place finish, which is nine places higher than the previous Winter Olympics. Korea's goal is to have 130 athletes compete in all seven events. As of Wednesday, 95 have secured their places in four events. This means that Korea will certainly have more athletes competing at the home games than at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia, when 71 Korean athletes competed in six events Korea is expected to pick up the most medals in short track speed skating, with at least four golds predicted from Shim Suk-hee and Choi Min-jung. The men's team is also determined to make up for their poor results at the Sochi Olympics where they failed to win a single medal. Team Korea is also hoping that it will finally win its first medals in the skeleton and bobsleigh events. Overall, the prospects are bright for a successful PyeongChang Games. As of Wednesday, 92 nations have expressed their intent to take part in the games, which is already more than the record 88 for the Sochi games. Also, the heads of states or representatives of 43 countries have pledged to attend the Olympics. The number is expected to surpass the 45 national representatives who attended the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics in Brazil. It's still unclear whether North Korea will participate in the event, but the regime typically decides on these matters close to opening day. The International Olympic Committee has banned Russia's participation over the doping scandal but Russian athletes can still take part individually.; 2017-12-25
Hot Issues of the Week

Pres. Moon Says North Korea Won't Disturb PyeongChang Winter Olympics: President Moon Jae-in is expressing confidence North Korea will not disturb the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. The presidential office released Moon's interview with the U.S. NBC television network on Friday. He cited the 1988 Olympics held in Seoul as well as three rounds of the Asian Games, during which the North did not pose a security threat. Moon said South Korea is the safest country in the world when it comes to crime and terrorism.; 2017-12-22
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Mobile App Launched to Promote Olympics: Gangwon Province has launched a mobile application to promote the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The PyeongChangGoGo app, featuring Olympic mascots Soohorang and Bandabi, offers location-based augmented reality assistance. Gangwon Province will use the app in connection with social media events to better promote the PyeongChang games. Organizers are also offering the popular Olympic edition "long padding" winter jacket as a prize to two lucky people selected from those who download the app by next Wednesday.; 2017-12-21
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Gov't Opens KTX Line Linking Seoul, Gangneung: The government has celebrated the opening of a new high-speed train line commuting between Seoul and Gangwon Province. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon attended the dedication ceremony for the KTX Gyeonggang line at the line’s easternmost destination, Gangneung, at 2 p.m. along with the officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Tourism. Set to begin its operation on Friday, the line takes customers from Seoul to several Gangwon areas using the newly built bullet train railway between Wonju and Gangneung. The existing high-speed railways between Seoul and Wonju are used in conjunction with the new railway. The new train line cuts the traveling time between Seoul and Gangneung from more than five hours to a mere 86 minutes, with the venues of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics to be reached even faster. An official of the Land Ministry said more than 20 percent of the tickets have been already sold since the beginning of the reservation services on November 30th.; 2017-12-21
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