Winter Olympics organizer welcomes North Korea’s interest in event

JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images

A South Korean television news broadcast showing North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s New Year’s speech on January 1, 2018.

On Monday, dictator Kim Jong Un said in a televised speech that he would consider sending a delegation to the upcoming games, which will be held in the South Korean city of PyeongChang next month. In the speech, Kim said that he was ready to talk with Seoul on the matter — while also highlighting his county’s nuclear advancement.

Pyongyang has never participated in an Olympic event hosted by its southern neighbor.

So, the new rhetoric is “a positive sign,” said Lee Hee-beom, head of the PyeongChang 2018 organizing committee, Yonhap News reported on Monday. The organizing committee has already been making preparations for North Korea’s participation, he reportedly added: “All the processes for the North Korean delegation’s accommodation and transportation are in place.”

The International Olympic Committee has long encouraged the reclusive regime to participate in the Winter Games even as the pariah state faces multiple international sanctions for its repeated nuclear and missile tests. In September, the committee said it was ready to provide North Korean athletes with gear and cover equipment costs.