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President Moon Jae-in presents a gift of Olympic mascots to International Olympic Committee chairman Thomas Bach while in New York to attend a meeting of the UN General Assembly on Sept. 19 (Blue House Photo Pool)

The South Korean government submitted a truce resolution to the UN calling for a halt to conflicts around the world during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics next February. The UN has adopted “Olympic truce” resolutions since 1993 as a way of honoring the games’ original goal of promoting peace. But with North Korea’s repeated provocations resulting in heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the Pyeongchang Games are poised to hold special meaning as an occasion for reducing military tensions.

President Moon Jae-in met on the morning of Sept. 19 with International Olympic Committee chairperson Thomas Bach while in New York to attend a meeting of the UN General Assembly.

“If the UN General Assembly truce resolution submitted by South Korea is adopted as scheduled on Nov. 13 with the support of many nations, there will be no need for concerns about security, and safety will be guaranteed all the more if North Korea participates,” Blue House spokesperson Park Soo-hyun quoted Moon as saying.

“South Korea has held a number of international sporting events amid confrontations with North Korea, including two Asian Games events, the Universiade, the IAAF World Championships, and the World Cup, and all of them have been staged safely and successfully,” Moon said.

The truce resolution reportedly included a temporary halt to conflicts around the world for a period from seven days before the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics’ opening to seven days after they end.

The Olympics may also be a variable in adjusting the schedule or intensity of the Key Resolve joint exercises held by South Korea and the US every February to March. Next year’s Winter Games and Winter Paralympics are taking place on Feb. 9–24 and Mar. 9–18, respectively.

“The Key Resolve schedule has not yet been decided, but the schedule for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and other international events will be taken account in making the decision,” a military authority said.

Meanwhile, the Blue House announced that Moon plans to hold a summit with US President Donald Trump for the last day of his New York visit on Sept. 21 to discuss the response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests. The same day, Moon is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech before the UN General Assembly outlining a solution to the Korean Peninsula crisis, and a luncheon is to be held among the South Korean, US, and Japanese leaders.

By Kim Bo-hyeop and Kim Ji-eun, staff reporters

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