(ATR) A planned joint skiing session in North Korea has been reportedly called off a week before the event.
South Korean media reported that North Korean officials sent a telegram today abruptly cancelling the event. Organizers from both Koreas scheduled the training session for Feb. 4, just days before the 2018 Olympics.
North Korean officials reportedly told their South Korean counterparts that "biased" media coverage was the reason for cancelling the trip, according to Yonhap. The two Koreas agreed to hold the training session in a joint declaration that announced North Korea’s participation at the PyeongChang Winter Games.
A statement from the Unification ministry said reports related to an "internal event" in North Korea was an issue. The event, according to Yonhap, was a potential military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea on the eve of the Olympics.
The training session was due to be held at Mount Kumgang, in the Masikryong Ski Resort in North Korea. The planned training sessions there have been controversial because many of the supplies used to build and stock the resort were banned under United Nations sanctions at the time of construction.
Cancelling the training session could have a ripple effect on how some of the North Korean athletes arrive for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Officials from the Korean Ski Association told Yonhap that North Korean alpine and cross country skiers could have used a charter flight by South Korean skiers to get to the Olympics. With the training session cancelled, those plans are now back in flux.
"If confirmed, a North Korean delegation of 30 members, including the six Olympic skiers, will probably take the chartered flight to Yangyang Airport," the KSA official was quoted as saying.
As part of the joint declaration, North Korea previously said it would use the western land route to cross into South Korea. The 12 North Korean women’s ice hockey skaters used this route to meet up with the South Korean women’s team to train before the Olympics.
Written by Aaron Bauer
25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
Últimas Noticias
Utah’s Olympic venues an integral part of the equation as Salt Lake City seeks a Winter Games encore
Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation chief of sport development Luke Bodensteiner says there is a “real urgency to make this happen in 2030”. He discusses the mission of the non-profit organization, the legacy from the 2002 Winter Games and future ambitions.
IOC president tells Olympic Movement “we will again have safe and secure Olympic Games” in Beijing
Thomas Bach, in an open letter on Friday, also thanked stakeholders for their “unprecedented” efforts to make Tokyo 2020 a success despite the pandemic.
Boxing’s place in the Olympics remains in peril as IOC still unhappy with the state of AIBA’s reform efforts
The IOC says issues concerning governance, finance, and refereeing and judging must be sorted out to its satisfaction. AIBA says it’s confident that will happen and the federation will be reinstated.
IOC president details Olympic community efforts to get Afghans out of danger after Taliban return to power
Thomas Bach says the Afghanistan NOC remains under IOC recognition, noting that the current leadership was democratically elected in 2019. But he says the IOC will be monitoring what happens in the future. The story had been revealed on August 31 in an article by Miguel Hernandez in Around the Rings
North Korea suspended by IOC for failing to participate in Tokyo though its athletes could still take part in Beijing 2022
Playbooks for Beijing 2022 will ”most likely” be released in October, according to IOC President Thomas Bach.
