North Korea suddenly calls off joint Olympic event at Mount Kumgang
- 6 years ago
There was hope the run-up to North Korea's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics would be smooth sailing, but another hiccup came late Monday night.
Out of the blue,... the North called off a joint cultural event scheduled to be held at Mount Kumgang to celebrate the first Olympics on Korean soil in 30 years.
For more on the sudden change of heart, Lee Seung-jae reports.
From the joint Korean women's ice hockey team,... to the agreement to walk together during the opening and closing ceremonies of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Everything looked to be in order, with the biggest international winter sporting event just ten days away.
However, in a telegram notification sent to South Korea at just past ten p.m. on Monday, the North said it had canceled the planned joint cultural event set to take place at Mount Kumgang on February 4th.
According to South Korea's Unification Ministry,... the North cited what it claimed to be 'biased' media reports about the upcoming event,... adding it had no choice but to cancel because South Korean media continued to insult what North Korea called 'sincere' measures regarding the Winter Olympics.
The ministry said the North took issue with media reports about its "internal event," referring to reports about the regime's military parade marking the 70th anniversary of its military on February 8th, the day before the Winter Games kick off.
Reports in South Korea have been saying that, instead of an earlier projection of 13-thousand military personnel and civilians taking part,... there will now be around 50-thousand.
The ministry expressed its disappointment, noting that the North's decision may undermine what it had earlier called a "hard-earned" chance to improve inter-Korean ties.
In a statement released shortly after the North's decision,... the ministry added that the "unilateral" decision by North Korea was regrettable,... and what has been agreed should be implemented under the spirit of mutual respect and understanding.
The event at Mount Kumgang was initially planned to be a part of a series of events ahead of the Olympics,... coming after three rounds of talks between the two Koreas.
It's uncertain whether this bump in the road will affect other scheduled events between the two Koreas,... in particular the scheduled art performance by a North Korean art troupe,... set to take place in Gangneung and Seoul.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
Out of the blue,... the North called off a joint cultural event scheduled to be held at Mount Kumgang to celebrate the first Olympics on Korean soil in 30 years.
For more on the sudden change of heart, Lee Seung-jae reports.
From the joint Korean women's ice hockey team,... to the agreement to walk together during the opening and closing ceremonies of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Everything looked to be in order, with the biggest international winter sporting event just ten days away.
However, in a telegram notification sent to South Korea at just past ten p.m. on Monday, the North said it had canceled the planned joint cultural event set to take place at Mount Kumgang on February 4th.
According to South Korea's Unification Ministry,... the North cited what it claimed to be 'biased' media reports about the upcoming event,... adding it had no choice but to cancel because South Korean media continued to insult what North Korea called 'sincere' measures regarding the Winter Olympics.
The ministry said the North took issue with media reports about its "internal event," referring to reports about the regime's military parade marking the 70th anniversary of its military on February 8th, the day before the Winter Games kick off.
Reports in South Korea have been saying that, instead of an earlier projection of 13-thousand military personnel and civilians taking part,... there will now be around 50-thousand.
The ministry expressed its disappointment, noting that the North's decision may undermine what it had earlier called a "hard-earned" chance to improve inter-Korean ties.
In a statement released shortly after the North's decision,... the ministry added that the "unilateral" decision by North Korea was regrettable,... and what has been agreed should be implemented under the spirit of mutual respect and understanding.
The event at Mount Kumgang was initially planned to be a part of a series of events ahead of the Olympics,... coming after three rounds of talks between the two Koreas.
It's uncertain whether this bump in the road will affect other scheduled events between the two Koreas,... in particular the scheduled art performance by a North Korean art troupe,... set to take place in Gangneung and Seoul.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.