Olympia 2018: Summit on the Korea question in Lausanne has begun

The summit meeting of the International Olympic Committee with top representatives from North and South Korea began on Saturday morning at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne.

Discussions will focus on the role of North Korea at the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea (9. till 25. February). The hostile states had already agreed on joint activities, including a joint women’s ice hockey team.

The IOC organising the meeting, chaired by the German President Thomas Bach, will now give its approval. Today is a great moment for the Olympic movement, because the Olympic spirit has brought us all together here,”said Bach in a welcoming statement:” The 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics opened the door to a peaceful dialogue on the Korean peninsula. Today’s meeting shows that the Olympic sport is always building bridges” A decision will be announced after the meeting at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

One and a half weeks ago, the two hostile states had also agreed in a rare date for bilateral talks to enter the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium together behind a unification flag at the opening and closing ceremony. This has so far only been the case at the Summer Games 2000 in Sydney and 2004 in Athens, and for the last time at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.

The North wants to send a delegation of about 550 people to the big event in the Olympic city near the common border, including cheerleaders, musicians and a Taekwondo group. Only the pair runners Ryom Tae Ok and Kim Ju Sik qualified from the north, all other athletes are now to receive a separate start permit from the IOC.