Two Koreas finalize plans for joint pre-Olympics events

By Yeo Jun-suk

Published : Jan. 28, 2018 - 22:13

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With South and North Korean delegates wrapping up inspections of venues for the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the governments of the two Koreas are putting the final touches on holding joint cultural and sporting events in the run-up to the Olympics.

North Korean officials visiting South Korea returned home Saturday after a three-day visit to check out accommodations and facilities for their delegates and athletes attending the Olympics, which take place from Feb. 9-25.

The focus is now on working out the details of a joint cultural performance and sports training expected to take place next week at North Korea’s tourist destinations, Kumgangsan Resort and Masikryong ski slopes, respectively.

“The procedure for sending an inspection team to ensure North Korea’s participation at the PyeongChang Olympics has been completed,” said an official from South Korea’s Unification Ministry. “All we have to do now is to implement our plan as scheduled.”

IN LINE FOR FOOD -- Press corps covering the PyeongChang Olympics wait in line for food at a dining facility at Gangneung Media Village in Gangwon Province on Sunday. Yonhap

The two Koreas are gearing up to hold joint training for cross-country and alpine skiing as early as Wednesday. The training is expected to take place for two days and involve the youth national team -- rather than athletes participating in the PyeongChang Olympics.

In early February, the two Koreas are also expected to hold a joint cultural performance at Kumgangsan Culture Center -- a popular stop in the long suspended cross-border tour program until it was halted in 2008 following an incident in which a North Korean soldier fatally shot a South Korean tourist.

The event will feature artists from the two Koreas performing in front of 600 spectators, with about an hour each for the North and South. The South Korean government is considering putting K-pop artists onstage.

On the eve of the Olympic opening ceremony, a North Korean art troupe will hold a performance to celebrate the ceremony. The event will take place in Gangneung, a subhost city of the Olympics in Gangwon Province.

Last week, a North Korean delegation led by Hyon Song-wol, chief of the 140-member Samjiyon Orchestra, looked into candidate venues for its art troupe’s performances in Gangneung and Seoul. The performance in Seoul will take place at the National Theater of Korea on Feb. 11.

While the art troupe is expected to cross the border into South Korea on Feb. 6 via a land route on the west coast, Pyeongyang’s cheerleading squad and taekwondo demonstration team will cross the border on Feb. 7. North Korean athletes participating in the Olympics are set to arrive in PyeongChang on Feb. 1.

North Korea has yet to say whether it would send a high-profile delegation for the games, including Choe Ryong-hae, vice chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party, or Kim Jong-un’s younger sister Kim Yo-jong, who serves as an alternate member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Worker’s Party.

The Olympics will be attended by the leaders of countries, including US Vice President Mike Pence and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

(jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)

Two Koreas finalize plans for joint pre-Olympics events

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