North Korea’s representative on the International Olympic Committee has reacted positively to the suggestion that the two Koreas might be able to jointly host the Winter Olympics in 2018, an idea which Democratic Party leader Sohn Hak Kyu floated at a party meeting on Monday.
Chang Ung made his comments at Narita Airport in Tokyo this morning, telling reporters, “Having the Winter Olympics in Asia is a good thing,” before adding of the joint hosting idea, “I want it to be like that.”
“The political and military status between South and North is not good, and that must be improved,” he went on to explain. “If it is not, it could also have an effect on the Olympics.”
Chang also commented on the arrival of the Winter Olympics in Asia for the third time, calling it another “good thing,” and on the presentation in support of the Pyeongchang bid made by South Korea’s biggest winter sports star, Kim Yu Na, saying she “did really well.”
However, it remains difficult to imagine the joint hosting idea getting off the drawing board, with the IOC’s own rules stating that the events which comprise the Olympic Games should be held in the vicinity of the host city or, if circumstances deman, in a number of places in a single country.
