ABU grants Olympic broadcasting rights to North Korea

A non-government organization dealing with Olympic broadcasting rights for North Korea said Thursday it will allow the North to air the international sports events across the country.

The decision came after Kim In-kyu, the president of South Korea’s public broadcaster KBS and chief of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, returned from a three-day visit to the North over the broadcasting issue.

Kim said the four-men ABU delegation he led struck an agreement with the North’s Radio and Television Broadcasting Committee under which the organization will provide the North with support to produce and broadcast TV programs on the events while the North pays for the rights.

How much the North will pay was not revealed. According to the deal, the North Korean committee will dispatch a staff of six to London and air the games for a minimum of 200 hours, he said. (Yonhap News)