North, South Korea Schedule Asian Games Talks for Thursday

(ATR) North Korea and South Korea have scheduled a date to hold discussions about the upcoming Asian Games in Incheon.

On Thursday morning, representatives from both countries will meet at the truce village of Panmunjom to discuss the logistics of sending 150 North Korean athletes to the competition in South Korea.

The South Korea delegation consists of three members, led by Kwon Kyung-sang, secretary general of the Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee; in contrast, Son Kwang-ho, vice chairman of the North Korean Olympic committee, will lead a delegation of 400 to 600 members.

Among the issues the two countries are discussing are transportation to the games and the cost of the North Korean athletes’ stay in South Korea.

When North Korea participated in the 2002 Busan Asian Games, the cheer squad took a ferry to the competition. However, South Korean sanctions created in 2010 prevent North Korea from sailing there.

Additionally, South Korea traditionally pays for the North Korean athletes to stay in their country, but many critics believe it is time for North Korea to foot their own bill.

Officials from Seoul’s unification committee are being cautious about Thursday’s meetings.

"A meeting has not started yet. It is difficult to talk about whether or not the talks will be completed in a day," Park Soo-jin, the unification ministry's deputy spokeswoman, told reporters on Wednesday.

Written by Andrew Murrell

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