[PyeongChang 2018] Seoul defends joint training at NK ski resort as part of efforts for 'Peace Olympics'

Published : Jan 18, 2018 - 13:47 Updated : Jan 18, 2018 - 13:47

South and North Korea's agreement to conduct joint training at a ski resort in the North reflects Seoul's wish to make the PyeongChang Winter Olympics a "peace" event, a government official said Thursday.

The two sides agreed in a working-level meeting Wednesday to hold a joint cultural event at Mount Kumgang in North Korea before the opening of the Olympics and to conduct joint training for skiers at Masikryong Ski Resort on the North's east coast.

The news sparked a heated debate here as critics say the joint exercise would promote the ski resort, one of the North's leader Kim Jong-un's pet projects.

This file photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting Masikryong Ski Resort near Wonsan, the North`s eastern port city, in 2013. (Yonhap)

South Korea's ski governing body said it is considering sending national team reserves and promising younger skiers for joint training, raising questions over whether the use of Masikryong Ski Resort is relevant to the Olympics.

"The idea is part of Seoul's vision to make the upcoming event the "Peace Olympics," said an official at Seoul's unification ministry. "It was proposed as a way to help improve inter-Korean ties and ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and it was realized (in the two sides' agreement)."

Asked whether Seoul's financial support for the two projects would violate UN sanctions, the official said that the government will prepare for them in a way that does not compromise the sanctions regime.

Under UN sanctions banning the provision of "bulk cash" to the North, the South can't offer cash directly to the North when it supports delegates' accommodation expenses and other costs. (Yonhap)