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President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach at the Blue House on July 3. (Blue House photo pool)

President Moon Jae-in said on July 3 that North Korea’s participation in next year’s Pyeongchang Winter Olympics would “contribute not only to instilling the Olympic spirit but also to peace in our region and the world and the unity of humankind.”

The Blue House has also reportedly opened the possibility of holding the Games in both South and North Korea and fielding unified South and North Korean teams in events such women’s ice hockey if North Korea does participate. With the groundwork laid for resuming inter-Korean dialogue at a South Korea-US summit late last month, Seoul now appears to be fleshing out plans for using sports exchange to get the ball rolling on inter-Korean reconciliation.

During a meeting at the Blue House that morning, Moon reportedly asked International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach to play a role in the process.

“We are well aware that the decision on North Korea’s participation is the IOC’s to make,” Blue House spokesperson Park Soo-hyun quoted Moon as saying.

In response, Bach referred to his experience discussing North Korea’s participation in the Sydney Olympics with then-President Kim Dae-jung in 1998.

“At the time, President Kim said he would ‘agree to anything if North Korea agrees,’ and that alone was enough to persuade North Korea,” Bach was quoted as saying.

Bach also reportedly said he “actively support[s] President Moon’s policies for inter-Korean reconciliation and peace on the Korean Peninsula,” which he described as a “way of honoring the Olympic spirit.”

Moon’s efforts to make North Korea a part of the Pyeongchang Games are being seen as an attempt to use interchange in the apolitical arena of sports as a way of gradually increasing forums for dialogue. With Moon enlisting US President Donald Trump’s support for a leading role for South Korea in establishing an environment conducive to peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula and resumption on inter-Korean dialogue on humanitarian and other issues at their recent summit, his aim may be to use the Pyeongchang Games as a starting point for his more general vision on North Korea relations. During his meeting with Bach, Moon said he had “gained support for humanitarian areas and South Korea’s leading role in establishing peace between North and South” at the summit, which he said had “allowed for stronger cooperation in the area of sports.”

Moon signaled that he was ready to begin with his sports diplomacy efforts right away. Bach stressed that “international promotion” was key for a successful Olympics, noting China and Japan’s interest in the next games as suggesting they might be “good partners to cooperate with.” In response, Moon said he planned to “ask for China’s assistance with North Korea’s participation when I meet with [Chinese President] Xi Jinping.” Moon is scheduled to meet with Xi at the G-20 Summit in Hamburg on July 7-8.

The South Korean government is reportedly considering fielding unified teams in events such as women’s ice hockey and short-track skating, while leaving open the possibility of holding the Pyeongchang Games in both South and North Korea. Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jong-hwan hinted on June 20 that the Games could make use of North Korea‘s Masikryong Ski Resort.

But a number of barriers exist to the fielding of a unified team, including differences in ability and issues related to the ratios of South and North Korean players and their training schedules. Splitting the Games between South and North Korea would entail some cumbersome procedures related to safety issues in the North and inspections of its various facilities.

“If we want to hold a ‘Peace Olympics,’ there needs to be a meeting immediately between the South and North Korean Olympic Committees to flesh things out through athletic talks,” said Minjoo Party lawmaker Kim Byung-wook, a member of the National Assembly Education, Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee.

A Blue House source said the “focus of the conversation [between Moon and Bach] was on a North Korean team being able to participate.”

“The format or method of participation is something that can be discussed once it has been established that North Korea is participating,” the source said.

By Choi Hye-jung and Kim Chang-keum, staff reporters

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