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Flags of participating nations flutter outside the Olympic Park in Gangneung on Jan. 5. (Yonhap News)

The confirmation of North Korea’s participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics with an agreement to hold high-level inter-Korean talks on Jan. 9 is drawing attention to the question who will pay for the North Korean delegation’s lodging expenses and how. Some are suggesting that South Korean support to cover the costs would violate the framework of UN Security Council resolutions and other international sanctions against the North.

“The government’s basic position is that no questions from the US and international community over the potential violation of sanctions against the North should be allowed to arise in connection with North Korea’s participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and Paralympics,” the Ministry of Unification stated on Jan. 5.

The reply was given at a regular briefing that day by Unification Ministry spokesperson Baik Tae-hyun, who also said that “preparations would be carried out in those terms.” Sources reported that the Ministry of Unification and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are now carefully examining not only UNSC resolutions but also independent sanctions by the South Korea and US governments for various possible scenarios that could arise in connection with support for North Korea’s Olympic participation.

For now, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is expected to cover expenses for North Korean athletes once they come to South Korea. The IOC previously stated that “all costs for [the athletes’] participation will be covered by Olympic Solidarity and this includes equipment, if needed and requested” by the North Korean Olympic Committee. Olympic Solidarity is a fund established by the IOC with proceeds from broadcasting rights, donations, and Olympic ticket sales to provide athlete and coach development funds to national Olympic committees in need of assistance.

Analysts were divided on whether support from Olympic Solidarity would conflict with the terms of UNSC resolutions. Some maintain that the IOC is not formally subject to the terms of UNSC resolutions sanctioning North Korea because it is not a “UN member country.” The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said consideration will need to be based on the actual scale and form of participation and method of support.

The prevailing view is that South Korean government assistance with lodging costs for the North Korean team would not be in violation of the UNSC resolutions because they would not be provided in cash. For this reason, some in and around the administration have concluded that accommodations, meals, and other amenities could be offered to the North Korean athletes.

With analysts also maintaining that this would depend on the “reaction” from the US, Seoul plans to discuss the matter closely with Washington. It also reportedly plans to look for methods of support based on the Olympic spirit of “peace through sports” and the aims of UNSC resolutions, which have emphasized a “a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to the situation on the Korean Peninsula” and the “importance of working to reduce tensions in the Korean Peninsula and beyond.”

Seoul maintains that the presence of figures in the delegation who have been included as targets for independent sanctions by South Korea – including Workers’ Party vice chairman Choe Ryong-hae and United Front Department director Kim Yong-chol – bears no direct connection with sanctions against the North. The sanctions in question bar financial transactions with individuals listed, but do not restrict them from entering South Korea.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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