Kim Jong-Un on Monday gave the first indication that North Korea could participate in next month's Winter Olympics in the South, despite tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons<\/b>
\nKim Jong-Un on Monday gave the first indication that North Korea could participate in next month\u2019s Winter Olympics in the South, despite tensions over Pyongyang\u2019s nuclear weapons program.
\u201cI sincerely hope the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics will be staged successfully,\u201d said Kim, the North Korean leader, in his new year\u2019s address to the nation.
\u201cWe are willing to take necessary measures including to dispatch our delegation.
\u201cFor this purpose, authorities of the North and South would be able to meet in the near future,\u201d he said.
Seoul\u2019s presidential Blue House responded positively to Kim\u2019s proposal for talks about sending a delegation to the Games.
\u201cWe welcome it,\u201d a statement said. \u201cShould the Olympics be staged successfully, it will contribute to peace not only on the Korean peninsula but in the region and the world as well.\u201d
Lee Hee-Beom, the head of the Pyeongchang Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (POCOG) told AFP: \u201cWe actively welcome the North\u2019s suggestion that it is willing to engage in talks for the participation in the Olympics.
\u201cWe\u2019ve been preparing for the Olympics on the assumption that the North will eventually take part in the games,\u201d he said, adding that POCOG have in place protocols for accommodation and transport for the North\u2019s athletes.
\u2018Peace Olympics\u2019
Seoul and POCOG have billed the Games, which open on February 9, as a \u201cpeace Olympics\u201d and have been keen for the North to take part.
Two North Korean athletes \u2014 pairs figure skaters Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-Sik \u2014 qualified for the Games but the North Korean Olympic Committee missed an October 30 deadline to confirm to the International Skating Union that they would participate.
The pair could still be invited to compete by the International Olympic Committee.
\u201cThe IOC says the North would be able to take part in any event it wants,\u201d said Lee. \u201cBut North Korea is likely to send athletes to figure skating, short track skating, cross country and women\u2019s ice hockey.\u201d
The Winter Olympic main venues are just 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the heavily fortified border with the North and the build-up to the event has been overshadowed by tensions running high over the Pyongyang\u2019s escalating nuclear and missile tests.
Kim said the Olympics would \u201cserve as a good chance to display our Korean people\u2019s grace toward the world.\u201d
\u201cThe year 2018 is a significant year for both the North and the South, with the North marking the 70th anniversary of its birth and the South hosting the Winter Olympics.\u201d
\u2018Unstable state\u2019
Kim did strike one note of caution. \u201cThe sharp military tension between the North and the South must be eased and a peaceful atmosphere should be in place,\u201d he said.
Professor Kim Hyun-Wook at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy said the North was trying to use the Olympics to improve ties with the South despite tensions with the US showing no signs of abating.
\u201cThe US will find it awkward to put brakes on inter-Korean dialogue focused on Pyeongchang,\u201d he said.
North Korea\u2019s past participation in sporting events in the South has largely depended on the political and military situation, though they did send a full team to the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, near Seoul.
\u201cIt is quite noteworthy that the North\u2019s leader himself says the North is willing to participate in Pyeongchang,\u201d Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul told AFP. \u201cThe chances of the North coming to the Olympics now seem to be more than 80 percent.\u201d
North and South Korea have been divided by a demilitarized zone since the end of the 1950-53 Korean war.
South Korean president Moon Jae-In last month proposed delaying Seoul\u2019s annual joint military exercises with the US until after the Games.
The Key Resolve and Foal Eagle drills usually start in late February or early March and run until the end of April, usually contributing to a spike in tensions, with Pyongyang condemning the exercises as rehearsals for invasion.<\/p>\n

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