(ATR) Thomas Bach welcomes ambitious plans by North and South Korea to launch a joint bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics.
The move was announced Wednesday by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in in a statement after their meeting at a Pyongyang summit.
"The South and North agreed to actively participate jointly in international competitions including the 2020 Summer Olympics and to cooperate in bidding for the South-North joint hosting of the 2032 Summer Olympics," the joint statement said.
News of the Olympic bid comes five months after the North and South Korean leaders held their first summit in more than a decade.
IOC president Bach today welcomed "very much the intention of the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to jointly host the Olympic Games 2032".
"After we opened the door for political talks with the joint march of the two Korean teams at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, sport could once more make a contribution to peace on the Korean peninsula and the world. We sincerely wish that these political talks produce the necessary progress for a successful candidature."
Bach added: "In my talks with the leaders of the two countries, the IOC committed itself to continue to support the rapprochement between the two Koreas through sport by supporting athletes and enabling their participation in international competitions and promoting sports exchanges between the two countries."
The Association of National Olympic Committees also welcomed the Koreas bid plan. "The joint bid is yet another example of the power of sport to unite nations," a spokesperson told ATR. "ANOC would like to praise the IOC and the National Olympic Committees of the two Koreas for their continued progress in using sport to contribute to peace on the Korean Peninsula. ANOC wishes the joint-Korean bid, and all NOCs that bid for the 2032 Games, the best of luck."
Leaders of the two Koreas – who have been technically at war for decades – did not elaborate on plans for a tilt at the 2032 Olympics. It would involve a major thaw in diplomatic relations and a new phase of political and financial cooperation between the two nations in the coming years before any Olympic bid was viable.
In 2018, sports diplomacy has been used to ease tensions and divisions on the Korean peninsula that has been riven by conflict between the nations since the Korean War in the 1950s.
The two nations teamed up and won a first joint gold, one silver and two bronze medals at the Asian Games in Jakarta last month. The Koreas also fielded joint teams for the ITTF world table tennis championships in the summer.
The most significant diplomatic milestone was when the two Koreas marched together under a Korea unification flag in the athletes parade at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic opening ceremony.
An agreement between the Koreas also led to the formation of a unified women’s ice hockey team including players from the two NOCs.
The next steps for North and South Korea towards a possible 2032 bid would be further Olympic talks, with an agreement to march and compete together at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. No deal is yet in place.
In recent months, the IOC has tried to facilitate more opportunities for North Korean athletes to participate in international sporting competitions.
Under a new initiative announced earlier this year, the Olympic committee said Olympic Solidarity financial aid was being used to help more North Korean athletes travel to and compete at worldwide events. It funded a team of 12 athletes to take part in the World Table Tennis Championships in Sweden.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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