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A South Korean advance team sent to review the venues for the inter-Korean musical performance at Mt. Kumkang and the joint ski training at Masikryong Ski Resort checks the stage at the Mt. Kumkang Cultural Center on Jan. 23. (provided by the Unification Ministry)

The inter-Korean joint cultural event celebrating the hosting of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics is likely to be held at the Mt. Kumgang Cultural Center in early February.

On Jan. 26, a senior official from the Unification Ministry who had returned from a visit to North Korea from Jan. 23 to 25 with the South Korean advance team met with reporters. “We’re actively considering the cultural center as the location for the cultural event. Since the cultural center was built to host cultural events, its stage has the appropriate width and length, and it has a green room, too,” the official said.

In regard to the cultural event program, the official said, “South Korea is thinking about contemporary music, traditional music and cultural events. The North Koreans are apparently focusing on traditional music.” The official added that South Korea had also told the North Koreans about the possibility of featuring a K-pop act in the concert. The concert will consist of separate performances by South and North Koreans, followed by a joint performance.

While South and North Korea are currently looking at several dates, the event will be reportedly held on the afternoon of Feb. 4. Sources also say that South and North Korea will each receive half of the seats that have a clear view of the stage (which represent about half of the total 620 seats in the concert hall). This suggests that between 200 and 300 figures from South Korea’s cultural, artistic, athletic and civic groups, along with members of the general public, will be able to attend the cultural event. Participants from South Korea will visit North Korea after lunch, attend the event and return home before dinner. The government is deliberating how to select the participants.

The Masikryong Ski Resort

The South Korean skiers who will participate in two days of joint training with their North Korean counterparts at the Masikryong Ski Resort in North Korea either in late January or early February are likely to fly there via the Kalma International Airport in Wonsan, Gangwon Province. The South Korean advance team that reviewed the airport’s safety measures and facilities, including the runway, taxiway and apron, pronounced the facilities and level of maintenance satisfactory.

“It took us nearly four hours to get from Mt. Kumgang to the hotel at Masikryong. I don’t think that [the overland route] is feasible because it takes so long,” the Unification Ministry official said. Kalma International Airport is about a 45-minute drive from the Masikryong Ski Resort. South and North Korean skiers will be holding friendly matches in the two categories of cross-country skiing and alpine skiing.

On Jan. 26, North Korea’s eight-member advance team under Yun Yong-bok, deputy director general of the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports, visited the Pyeongchang International Broadcast Centre, the Holiday Inn Resort, the Alpensia Cross-Country Centre, the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium and the Yongpyong Alpine Centre to review the facilities necessary for the activities of the North Korean delegation to the games, including athletes, cheerleaders and the Taekwondo demonstration team.

By Noh Ji-won, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]