hankyoreh

By Kim Kyu-won, staff reporter
KBS president Kim In-kyu is visiting Pyongyang on July 24 as chairman of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). Unification Ministry deputy spokesperson Park Su-jin said Monday that Kim’s visit to North Korea had been officially approved.
Kim is visiting Pyongyang from July 24 to 26 to discuss broadcasting rights for the London Olympics with officials at the Korean Central Broadcast Committee, an ABU member company. Also to be discussed is North Korea’s attendance at the general ABU meeting in Seoul and other matters, Park said. The network chief will be accompanied by three ABU officials.
Kim’s visit is the first to North Korea by a major South Korean figure since a private delegation of mourners traveled there in December after the death of Kim Jong-il.
During his visit, North Korea is expected to discuss the issue of North Korean broadcasting for the London Games, which begin Friday. The country has around fifty athletes competing in eleven events, including women’s soccer, marathon, table tennis, judo, wrestling, weightlifting, shooting, archery, and women’s boxing.
But it does not have broadcasting rights for the Games, which means it must enlist the aid of South Korea’s top three broadcasters - KBS, MBC, and SBS - which hold rights for the Peninsula. Those networks recently reached an agreement with the North to provide broadcasting rights, with authority delegated to ABU. Barring any major differences of opinion, North Koreans should be able to view the games following Kim’s visit.
But the situation is unlikely to open up any channels for dialogue on inter-Korean relations.
Park Su-jin said that Kim is visiting as a representative of ABU, and that the content of his discussions there is limited to ABU issues.
“Matters having to do with inter-Korean relations are not a topic for discussion during this North Korea visit,” she stressed.
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