Chang Ung, a North Korean International Olympic Committee member, arrived in South Korea on Sunday to attend the 132nd IOC Session scheduled at the venue for the PyeongChang Olympics.　Chang, who arrived at Incheon Airport from Beijing, is scheduled to travel to Gangneung, Gangwon Province, a subhost city of the games and venue for the 132nd IOC Session, on Monday. 　“I am an IOC member. I wish and am sure that the PyeongChang Olympics will be a success,” he told reporters at the airport. (Yonhap

The PyeongChang Winter Olympics is revving up for its opening night on Feb. 9. A rehearsal for the opening ceremony took place Saturday, while the PyeongChang Cultural Olympiad, a program of cultural events, also began. A rehearsal for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics opening ceremony took place at 6 p.m. at the Gangneung-Wonju National University, featuring Korean traditional performance teams and bands.Gangwon Province Gov. Choi Moon-soon and actor-singer Jang Keun-suk, honorary ambassador for

Russia’s 15-year-old figure skating sensation Alina Zagitova performs a fast triple lutz-triple loop combination on the ice. The moment passes by so quickly, and it’s hard to see what’s going on from your seat in the back of the stadium.　Propping on your 5G-enabled virtual reality headsets, you get a 360-degree view of the entire rink. On a smartphone, you slide your finger across the screen to view a particular jump to see how it was exactly performed in the split of a second.On a 5G-connected

South Korean alpine skiers who failed to earn an Olympic selection will stage a protest in PyeongChang, the host city for the upcoming Winter Games, with their families, local authorities here said Saturday.According to the PyeongChang Police Station in Gangwon Province, the skiers and their family members submitted a document on Friday to stage a rally on the streets in Hoenggye, PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul. They plan to have a 90-minute protest each day from Sunday to Thursd

International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesman Mark Adams said Saturday that people who plan to visit PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, for the Winter Olympics opening ceremony should "wrap up" for cold weather.During a press briefing on an IOC Executive Board meeting, Adams said he is aware of the bitter cold in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul."I should be wearing very warm clothes on myself and advise everyone to do the same," he said. "We're advising everyone to take sensible pre

South Korean men's hockey players vowed to get better for the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics after a lethargic loss to Kazakhstan in their tuneup contest on Saturday.Defenseman Lee Don-ku put South Korea on the board first in the opening frame at Seonhak International Ice Rink in Incheon, just west of Seoul, but Kazakhstan ended up taking the game 3-1.South Korea struggled on both ends, unable to sustain pressure on offense and cut off outlet passes on defense.Lee, the lone goal scorer, sa

South Korea blanked Latvia 1-0 in a friendly football match in Turkey on Saturday, wrapping up their pre-World Cup camp with two wins and a draw.Forward Kim Shin-wook scored the eventual winner in the 33rd minute, his seventh goal in six games, as 59th-ranked South Korea defeated No. 131 Latvia at Mardan Stadium in Antalya in a game that was more lopsided than the score.South Korea earlier beat Moldova 1-0 and had a 2-2 draw against Jamaica.Kim extended his scoring streak to four matches. He net

GANGNEUNG (Yonhap) -- Coming from a reclusive nation, North Korean athletes have remained guarded in their preparations for the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea.A delegation of 32, including 10 athletes, crossed the heavily fortified border via a South Korean chartered plane Thursday, amid media frenzy and tight security. With South Korean and international media desperate for some sound bites, the athletes for the most part kept their mouths shut.North Korean athletes and officials head

North Korean short track speed skater Choe Un-song sustained a right leg injury in training on Friday.Choe took a bad spill and crashed hard into safety padding during his first training session at Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung, a sub-host city of all ice events during the Feb. 9-25 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. (Yonhap)Choe was stretchered off the ice and taken to a nearby hospital. His right leg was heavily wrapped up as he was carried out of the arenaRaquel Nunes, press manager at Gangneung

North Korea has been invited to participate in the Paralympic Games in South Korea next month, the International Paralympic Committee said Friday. The IPC said that it has invited North Korea to take part in its first Winter Paralympics and offered two bipartite slots to athletes to compete in Para Nordic skiing events in PyeongChang, South Korea. In an inter-Korean meeting earlier this month, North Korea agreed to send a 150-member delegation of athletes, cheerleaders, an art troupe and reporte

GANGNEUNG -- The unified Korean women's ice hockey team will don a uniform made by a different company than every other team in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, officials said Friday.Nike has manufactured official Olympic jerseys for the seven other nations in the women's tournament at the Feb. 9-25 competition.The US company had also designed one for South Korea, but its 23 players will not get to wear it, as they've been joined by 12 North Koreans on an unprecedented joint team. (Yonhap)When a

A rehearsal for the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics will be held Saturday, its organizing committee said. The event will be held at PyeongChang Olympic Stadium at 8 p.m. before 20,000 people, including volunteers, residents and officials, the organizer said.  The participants will be asked to keep details of the event secret. Organizers said unauthorized filming of the rehearsal or leaking details of the ceremony will be strictly banned, and violators can be held legally resp

HOENGSEONG -- Korean mogul skier Choi Jae-woo said Friday that he has "no special feelings" for the upcoming Winter Games, as he emphasized that he'll just put on his usual performance in PyeongChang.Choi is one of Korea's medal hopefuls. He is currently ranked fourth in the International Ski Federation World Cup rankings.While fans' eyes will be on Choi, who is looking to become the first Korean away from ice to medal, the 23-year-old said he isn't feeling any pressure.South Korean mogul skier

GANGNEUNG, South Korea -- The North Korean figure skating duo of Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik got in their first practice on Friday, one day after arriving in South Korea for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.Two North Korean short track speed skaters, meanwhile, skipped their scheduled morning practice here in Gangneung, the host of all ice events during the Feb. 9-25 Olympics.Ryom and Kim are among 22 North Korean athletes set to participate in PyeongChang 2018, the first Winter Games to take plac

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT plans to deploy 13,000 trash cans made with its proprietary paper recycling technology at the PyeongChang Olympics to spotlight the country’s efforts to promote environmental protection.It will also donate 6,000 boxes of A4 paper produced through its waste paper recycling technique for use at the International Broadcasting Center during the games, according to the ministry.The Korean government has been funding basic research for a number of fundamental