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Cho Myoung-Gyon (left), the South Korean minister of unification, and Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the North Korean Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, shake hands across the table at the Peace House in the Panmunjom truce village on Jan. 9. (Yonhap News)


The two Koreas have agreed that North Korean athletes, National Olympic Committee delegates from the North, and cheering and performing squads, too, will all participate in the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. 

South Korean Minister of Unification Cho Myoung-Gyon and Chairman Ri Son Gwon of the North Korean Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, held the high-level talks at the Peace House in the Panmunjom truce village on Jan. 9, and distributed the joint press release. 

According to the press release, North Korea stated that it will send high-level delegates, athletes, cheering squads, observers, a taekwondo demonstration team and some reporters to the South for the Winter Games. 

Also, the two parties discussed the matter of joint efforts to ease military tensions on the peninsula, how to create a peaceful environment on the Korean Peninsula, and how to promote national reconciliation and unity. 

The press release said that the South and North respect previous inter-Korean agreements, and that they will resolve all issues raised in the inter-Korean talks through dialogue and negotiation, as they are the parties directly concerned. 

“Both parties agreed to hold working-level talks regarding the dispatch of an advanced team for a preliminary state visit and for the North’s participation in the Winter Games,” said Unification Ministry’s spokesperson Baik Tae Hyun on Jan. 10 during a regular briefing. “The agreements will be made through document exchanges and working-level talks, as needed.” 


Korea.net