North Korea Figure Skaters Miss Key Deadline

(ATR) Whether a pair of North Korean figure skaters will compete at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics rests with the IOC.

An International Skating Union spokesperson confirmed to Around the Rings that the North Korean Olympic Committee missed a deadline on Oct. 30 to register its qualified athletes for the Games. The deadline was first reported by NBC.

The spokesperson said that the situation is "out of the norm," given that it will now be up to the IOC to decide if the pair are to compete. Tae Ok Ryom and Ju Sik Kim qualified in September for PyeongChang, but the ISU says their spot has been transferred to a Japanese pair following the missed deadline.

"The procedure is that all of those who have obtained qualification quota spots through the Olympic qualifying events had until Oct. 30 to confirm," the spokesperson said. "In this particular case we would refer [the North Koreans] to the IOC and I don’t think there is a deadline put in place.

"Best efforts have been made that all of those who have qualified or obtained quota spots had the opportunity to respond within the deadline."

An IOC spokesperson said in a statement to ATR that "the [North Korean] NOC has been invited to the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 and the IOC has offered its support". The IOC did not comment if it had attempted to contact the North Korean NOC or if the pair would be registered should the NOC ask.

IOC President Thomas Bach previously told the AP that "we are supporting [North Korean] athletes in order to assist them to qualify for the Olympic Games". Bach emphasized that this meant the IOC’s position on North Korea participation was "very clear".

PyeongChang 2018 organizers and South Korean President Jae In Moon have repeatedly supported North Korean participation. One of the tenets of the 2018 Games is to create a "Peace Olympics".

North Korea boycotted the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. The country did send athletes to both the 2002 and 2014 Asian Games in South Korea.

Written by Aaron Bauer

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