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The Mar. 31 edition of Rodong Sinmun provides coverage of Kim Jong-un’s meeting with IOC President Thomas Bach, which took place the previous day.
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“The IOC offered the opportunity and paved the way” for a dramatic thaw in inter-Korean relations, says Kim Jong-un
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged his active support in allowing North Korean athletes to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach reported. Speaking to reporters at Beijing Capital International Airport on Mar. 31 after a three-day visit to North Korea, Bach said the IOC would continue supporting the participation of North Korean athletes in the competition. “During the visit, I expressed my praise for the way North and South were able to march jointly with such brief preparations and communicated my hope that this would contribute in the Olympic spirit to the thawing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula,” he said. North Korean news outlets reported that Kim had met with Bach on Mar. 30. During the meeting, Kim was quoted describing the Winter Olympics as “not only successful as an Olympics, but carrying special meaning in furnishing a forum for new harmony between North and South.” “That inter-Korean relations were able to experience a dramatic thaw from their deep freeze with these Olympics is entirely thanks to the IOC, which offered that opportunity and paved the way,” Kim reportedly said. In response, Bach said, “By marching together and by competing as the first unified team in Olympic history, the North and South Korean athletes showed the world North and South’s commitment to peace and reconciliation, making this one of the most moving of Olympics.” The Mar. 30 meeting was also attended by Workers’ Party Central Community vice chairman Choe Ryong-hae, National Sports Guidance Committee chairman Choe Hwi, and Minister of Physical Culture and Sports Kim Il-guk. Kim Jong-un and Bach also watched a match between the North Korean national women’s football team and Pyongyang City Sports Club team. By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
