WASHINGTON _ North Korea was encouraged to think about hosting the Asian Games as a way of bolstering its economy at a meeting last week with U.S. experts, sources here said Monday.
The suggestion came from Victor Cha, former Asia director at the National Security Council who returned to teach at Georgetown University, according to the sources. Kim Myong-gil, North Korea's deputy chief of mission to the United Nations, "took note" of the suggestion, they said.
Kim and his aides attended a session Friday with American specialists, sponsored by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) which maintains an unofficial dialogue channel with North Korea. The talks covered a broad range of topics, including ongoing negotiations to denuclearize the Korean
Peninsula and how Pyongyang would gain acceptance into the international community.
The North Koreans were told how a major sports event promotes economic activities at home and improves the country's image, the sources said.
South Korea hosted the Asian Games in 1986, ahead of its 1988 summer Olympics. China hosted the Games in 1990, a year after the Tiananmen Square democratic uprising.