hankyoreh

the director of the sports reserves training guidance department of the North Korean Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Commission.

The Hankyoreh Shinmun received from the North Korean news publication Tongil Sinbo a news article and photographs about the North’s preparations for the Beijing Olympics in what is the first such exchange of articles since the two publications signed an exchange agreement in May. It is also the first agreement of its kind between news media organizations in North and South Korea.

The article, an interview provided by the Tongil Sinbo, was produced for Hankyoreh readers and did not come from the Tongil Sinbo’s pages.

The Northern publication said that while “sports officials are busy preparing for the Beijing Olympics and had a hard time responding to our reporter,” it nevertheless “worked hard to make the first exchange of articles with The Hankyoreh a success.”

The Hankyoreh and the Tongil Sinbo first signed the exchange agreement in Gaeseong (Kaesong) on May 22, when the two sides agreed they would call upon each other to cover certain stories and cooperate in facilitating direct visits by reporters from each other’s publications to promote the implementation and development of the June 15 Declaration and October 4 Declaration, each from the two inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007. The Hankyoreh was the first to have the Tongil Sinbo cover an interview on its behalf, asking for it to report on preparations for the Beijing Olympics by the North Korean Olympic team and individual athletes. The Tongil Sinbo is a weekly publication that was started after the July 4 Joint Declaration of 1972 to contribute to reunification.

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As the countdown clock winds down to just days before the start of the Beijing Olympics, the Tongil Sinbo recently interviewed Ri Kyong-il, the director of the sports reserves training guidance department of the North Korean Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Commission.

Question: With less than two weeks to go to the Beijing Olympics, tell me about the number of disciplines in which our athletes will compete at the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Answer: First, I give you women’s football. Our women’s football team got a ticket to the Beijing Olympics after beating Australia, China and Hong Kong in last year’s qualification tournament and winning the top spot with an undisputed total score of 51 to 0.

Several male and female shooting athletes, including Kim Jeong-soo, qualified for the Games after achieving good results at the Shooting World Cup and the Asian Shooting Championships in 2007.

In addition, a judoka Kye Sun-hui, (classified as) a People’s Athlete, qualified for the Games by winning the World Judo Championships in Brazil in the 57-kilogram category.

Q: What are the prospects for winning medals, including gold, at the Beijing Olympics?

A: Sporting events give us results in the final stage, but our athletes and coaches are bristling with determination to achieve better results at the 29th Olympic Games. Kye Sun-hui will compete for a gold medal in women’s judo and other talented athletes are also expected to put up a good performance.

Kye Sun-hui said recently, “My goal is to win a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. This will not change. If I win a gold medal, it will be more precious than one I received before.” (Kye won her first gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, becoming the youngest gold medalist in her sport.)

The North Korean women’s football team, which has displayed its talent as the strongest team in Asia, will play its first game in the “death group” among the best teams in the world and the players are full of confidence. The goal of the North Korean team is to win more than 10 medals at the Beijing Olympics.

Q: Many people are paying attention to the Games and expect that North Korean athletes will produce favorable results. Could you tell me about the enthusiasm the athletes have shown?

A: They are practicing very hard to produce good performances at the Games. All of the athletes are full of vitality and have been working patiently to improve their physical abilities and learn more techniques based on our own principles and methods. All of the related personnel, including coaches and scientific and medical personnel, are joining forces to get excellent results. Due to their strenuous efforts, the coaches and athletes will certainly obtain good results at the 29th Olympics.

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