Moon thanks IOC for peace efforts
President Moon Jae-in speaks at the opening ceremony of the general meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the Gangneung Art Center in Gangwon Province, Monday, with IOC President Thomas Bach. / Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
President Moon Jae-in paid his respects to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Monday, for the agency’s strong support for the nation to host a peaceful winter Olympics.
Moon visited the Gangneung Art Center in Gangwon Province to attend the 132nd IOC session, and delivered a keynote speech where he expressed his gratitude to IOC members for allowing PyeongChang to hold the Winter Olympic Games set to start this Friday.
The President particularly appreciated the IOC’s efforts in helping South and North Korea form a unified women’s ice hockey team and engage in a variety of peaceful inter-Korean activities during the upcoming sporting event.
“An incredible thing is taking place in the city of PyeongChang, located a very short distance from a truce line,” Moon said in his address to the IOC event.
“We will send a message of peace and reconciliation to the world during the Olympics,” he said.
Before the IOC conference, Moon and a group of the presidential delegation met with high-ranking IOC members, including IOC President Thomas Bach.
A group of more than 900 people participated in the IOC session. They included National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, floor leaders of the nation’s ruling and opposition parties and Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan.
Starting with the meeting of the IOC members, Moon will have a hectic diplomatic schedule before the opening of the Olympics.
According to Cheong Wa Dae, Moon will hold a summit with Estonia President Kersti Kaljulaid on Tuesday at the presidential office. On Wednesday, he will also have a meeting with Lithuania President Dalia Grybauskaite and Canadian Governor General Julie Payette.
On Thursday, Moon is expected to have the busiest schedule by having summit talks with the presidents of Switzerland, Germany and Poland. At night, Moon is scheduled to have dinner with United States Vice President Mike Pence who will lead the country’s presidential delegation for the upcoming Olympics.
Moon and the presidential office are also expected to pay keen attention to North Korea on the same day the regime plans to hold a military parade to celebrate the foundation of its armed forces.
Given the recent reconciliatory mood on the Korean Peninsula, chances are slim that North Korea may carry out aggressive military provocations by firing missiles on the eve of the Olympics.
The Moon administration takes the position that the planned military show of force is not aimed at the Olympics. The Ministry of Unification said Monday the scheduled military parade is an independent and regular ceremony of the regime, which will pose little threat to the Olympics.
In a dinner meeting with Pence, Moon is expected to highlight that the Olympics has paved the way for a long-awaited resumption of the inter-Korean dialogue.
Since taking office last May, Moon has put top priority on having inter-Korean talks to resolve the continuous missile and nuclear threat from the North.
He has, for this reason, strongly encouraged the two Koreas to engage in unified activities at the upcoming Olympics, which the government believes will spark momentum to extend the thawing relations from both sides even after the sporting event.
On Friday, Moon will make his way to the Olympics venue to participate in its opening ceremony. The President also plans to have a series of meetings with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.