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Tue, January 26, 2021 | 06:09
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North Korea to send cheerleaders
"인천 아시안게임 북한 응원단, 100명 수준 될 듯"
Posted : 2014-07-07 16:45
Updated : 2014-07-08 09:11
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By Kang Seung-woo

North Korea will send a team of cheerleaders along with its athletes to the Incheon Asian Games to be held from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.

This apparent peace gesture comes in contrast to orders issued by leader Kim Jong-un during a recent inspection of troops guarding the eastern coastline in Wonsan.

Kim was quoted by the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) as instructing troops to shoot and drown any foes found attempting to get onto the shoreline.

"We have no reason to turn down the cheerleaders," a Ministry of Unification official said about the North's cheerleaders set to attend the games.

The North explained that sending the team was aimed at helping improve inter-Korean ties.

"Our sincere decision this time will melt the frozen North-South relations with the heat of national reconciliation while displaying the entire Korean people's will toward reunification," the North said.

The proposal also follows Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Seoul ahead of going to the North, breaking an unwritten protocol between the two allies. During his visit, Xi talked about the deepening friendship with Seoul.

This will be the first time in nine years for the North to send a squad of cheerleaders to a sporting event held in the South. The dictatorial regime last dispatched cheerleaders to the South for the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships that also took place in the port city.

The squad may be composed of some 100 women in their early- or mid-20s, according to Kim Gyeong-sung, the South Korean head of the Inter-Korean Athletic Exchange Association, who met North Korean officials in China in March.

"The size may be around 100 20-something women who are chosen on the basis of appearance and ideology," Kim said.

On May 23, the North announced it would send a delegation of 150 athletes for 14 events.

The ministry said that it would take necessary procedures to provide hospitality for the athletes and the cheerleaders in accordance with international standards.

"It has yet to be decided whether to hold working-level talks with North Korea or deal with the preparation issues through the games' organizing committee," ministry spokesman Kim Eui-do said.

However, the government remains cautious about fielding a unified team, a joint march or a joint cheerleaders' team.

So far, the North has dispatched cheerleaders to three sporting events in the South — the 2002 Asian Games, 2003 Summer Universiade and 2005 Asian Athletics Championships — and the current squad, comprised of young good-looking women, created a sensation at each event they attended, drawing more attention from the public as well as the media than the athletes.

More notably, Ri Sol-ju, the wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, also visited the South as a member of the cheerleaders' squad in 2005.

Along with announcing the cheerleading group, the North called on the South to change its North Korean policy and mend ties between the two Koreas.

The North insisted that the South stick to multiple joint declarations and lift the May 24 sanctions in order to create a mood for inter-Korean dialogue.

The sanctions forbid all inter-Korean cooperation except for activities at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and were impose following the sinking of the Naval ship Cheonan by a North Korean torpedo in March 2010.


"인천 아시안게임 북한 응원단, 100명 수준 될 듯"

김경성 남북체육교류협회 이사장 '남측 태도에 따라 늘 수 있어'

북한이 오는 9월 인천 아시안게임에 파견할 응원단 규모는 2002년 부산 아시안게임 때의 3분1 수준인 100명 안팎에 될 것으로 알려졌다.

남북 간 민간 체육교류를 해온 남북체육교류협회의 김경성 이사장은 7일 북측이 파견하기로 한 응원단과 관련, '외모·사상을 기준으로 선발된 20대 초·중반 여성들로 구성되며 규모는 100여명 수준으로 알고 있다'고 전했다.

김 이사장은 이날 연합뉴스와의 전화 통화에서 지난 3월 중국에서 만난 북측 관계자들로부터 인천 아시안게임에 응원단을 보낼 것이라는 이야기를 들었다면서 이같이 밝혔다.

그는 '응원단 규모는 앞으로 남측과 협의하는 과정에서 우리 정부의 태도에 따라 더 늘어날 가능성도 있지만 북측이 남측에 먼저 지원을 요청하지는 않을 것으로 본다'고 말했다.

남북체육교류협회는 2003년부터 체육 부문의 남북 교류를 담당해 온 민간단체로 현재 강원도·인천시 등 지방자치단체들과 함께 북한 민족화해협의회를 상대로 대북사업을 진행하고 있다.

북측은 지금까지 2002년 부산 아시안게임 288명, 2003년 대구 하계 유니버시아드대회에 303명, 2005년 인천 아시아육상선수권대회에 124명 등 총 세 차례 응원단을 보냈다.

이번 인천 아시안게임에 100여명의 응원단을 보낸다면 이는 대회 규모를 고려할 때 과거보다 상대적으로 적은 숫자다.

김 이사장은 '이번에는 남측의 요청이나 남측과의 협의를 통해 이뤄지는 것이 아니라 북측의 결정에 따른 것인 만큼 체재비 등 지원 없이 북측이 독자적으로 운영할 수 있는 규모로 응원단을 보낼 것'이라고 말했다.

이어 '응원단 파견은 그 자체가 목적은 아니며 북한이 외부에 대남관계 개선의 메시지를 보내는 의미가 담긴 것으로 보인다'고 덧붙였다.

김 이사장은 다음주 중 중국에서 북측 민족화해협의회 등과 아시안게임 참가 전반에 대해 협의하는 자리에서 응원단 관련 내용도 함께 논의할 계획이다.

북한은 이날 '정부 성명'을 통해 인천 아시아게임에 선수단과 함께 응원단을 파견하기로 했다고 발표했다. (연합뉴스)
Emailksw@ktimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter









 
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