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| Lee Joo-tae, right, director of inter-Korean exchanges for the unification ministry, shakes hands with his North Korean counterpart Hwang Chung-song, a senior official on the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, ahead of working-level talks to arrange logistics for the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics at the truce village of Panmunjeom, Tuesday. / Yonhap |
By Kim Bo-eun
A North Korean delegation composed of the country's Paralympics committee officials and athletes will arrive in the South for the PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games, March 7, via a land route, the two Koreas announced in a joint press statement, Tuesday.
The Paralympics will be held from March 9 to 18. This is the first time for North Korea to take part in a Winter Paralympics.
The joint statement followed inter-Korean talks at the truce village of Panmunjeom earlier in the day. A South Korean delegation led by Lee Joo-tae, director of inter-Korean exchanges at the unification ministry, and his counterpart Hwang Chung-song, a senior official of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, discussed details on the North's participation in the Games.
The two Koreas had agreed for the North to take part in the Olympics and Paralympics in high-level talks in January. In follow-up talks, they agreed for the North to send a 150-member delegation, comprised of Paralympic committee officials, athletes, a performance troupe, cheerleading squad and reporters.
However, Tuesday's talks did not discuss the participation of the performance troupe, cheerleading squad or reporters.
"It is presumed the North has decided not to send them to the Paralympics, considering various circumstances," a unification ministry official said. "It appears the North believes the participation of its art troupe and cheerleading squad at the Olympics has already contributed to improving inter-Korean relations."
In the talks, Pyongyang expressed its intention to send four Paralympic committee officials, six athletes and 14 support staff.
Earlier on Feb. 1, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) stated the North Korean delegation to the Paralympics would be comprised of eight members including two cross country skiers. However, in Tuesday's talks, North Korean officials proposed sending four more athletes and eight more support staffers.
The IPC will finalize the size of the delegation.
The joint press statement said further details would be arranged via document exchanges through the Panmunjeom channel.
"We believe that the North Korean delegation's participation in the Olympics has enriched the Games and contributed greatly in sending a message of peace and harmony to the world," Lee said ahead of the talks.
In response, Hwang said "I believe (the Games) boosted the nations' status. There is a saying that when things are shared between people of mutual understanding, sadness halves and happiness doubles."
In the PyeongChang Olympics, the North sent a 500-member delegation. The high-level delegation led by Kim Yong-chol, the head of the Workers' Party of Korea's United Front Department, that visited the South for the Games' closing ceremony returned to the North the same day.
It remains to be seen whether South Korea will make further exceptions to sanctions imposed on Pyongyang for its missile and nuclear provocations, to facilitate the North's participation in the Paralympics.
Several exemptions were made to enable the North Korean delegation to take part in the Olympics, such as enabling a sanctioned ferry to bring a North Korean cheerleading squad to the South and serve as accommodation for them.
Exceptions were also made for several blacklisted high-level North Korean officials including Choe Hwi, chairman of the state physical culture and sports guidance commission, as well as Kim Yong-chol.
Relations between the Koreas have thawed in the New Year, after North Korean leader offered a rare olive branch to the South, stating willingness to send a delegation to the Olympics. High-level talks took place Jan. 9 ― after almost two years of silence ― to discuss the matter, when South Korea and the U.S. agreed to push back their joint military exercises until after the Games.
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