South and North Korean athletes to enter Paralympics under Unification flag

Posted on : 2018-01-30 17:53 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
The joint entrance will be in addition to the entrance at the Pyeongchang Olympics on Feb. 9
South and North Korean athletes make a joint entrance for the first time under the Unification Flag at the opening ceremonies of the Sydney Summer Olympics on Sept. 15
South and North Korean athletes make a joint entrance for the first time under the Unification Flag at the opening ceremonies of the Sydney Summer Olympics on Sept. 15

South and North Korean athletes will be marching into the opening ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Paralympics, which will be held on Mar. 9, under the Unification Flag. On Jan. 29, the executive committee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) convened at the IPC’s main office in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, where it approved North Korea’s participation in the 2018 Pyeongchang Paralympics.

The executive committee also agreed that South and North Korea can enter the opening ceremony together and use the Unification Flag. This will be the first joint entrance by South and North Korea in the history of the Paralympics. A North Korean delegation consisting of two athletes and six officials is planning to attend the games.

North Korea has not sent athletes to the Paralympics for until recently. Its first participation came in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, when one North Korean athlete (Rim Ju-song) competed in the games. After skipping the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, the North sent two athletes (Song Kum-jong and Kim Chol-ung) to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

In preparation for the Pyeongchang Paralympics, North Korean para Nordic skiers Ma Yu-chol (27) and Kim Jong-hyon (18) have reportedly undergone a grueling training routine since this past December. After recently wrapping up the athletic registration process, Ma and Kim competed in the 2017-2018 World Para Nordic Skiing World Cup, which is organized by the IPC, giving them the minimum requirements for participating in the Pyeongchang Paralympics. These two athletes’ names will reportedly appear on the list of wild card athletes that the IPC is scheduled to announce on Feb. 1.

In related news, the IPC’s executive committee has followed the example of the IOC by deciding that Russian athletes can only compete in the Pyeongchang Paralympics in an individual capacity because of the Russian doping scandal. The committee also restricted Russian athletes to five categories of competition: Alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, snowboarding and wheelchair curling.

By Kim Chang-keum, staff reporter

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