Korean Peninsula Diplomacy: IOC chief confirms DPRK's participation in next two Olympics

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The DPRK will be participating in the next two Olympics. That's according to International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach, who had a rare meeting with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang.

After his three-day trip in Pyongyang, IOC chief Thomas Bach described his meeting with DPRK leader Kim Jong Un as "very open and fruitful".

Bach's visit comes after the DPRK's participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Games in February, which helped ease tensions over the Korean Peninsula.

Kim told Bach that the Olympics had "opened a new chapter of concord" between the DPRK and South Korea, according to DPRK state media. Kim said the once frozen north-south relations was greeted by a dramatic thawing season with the Olympics and it was totally attributable to the efforts of the IOC.

Kim and Bach also held discussions about sports development in the DPRK and attended a women's football match.

In Pyongyang, Bach also spoke with the DPRK's Olympic Committee and visited stadiums.

During the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang winter games, athletes from the DPRK and South Korea marched under a unified flag, and both sides have seen a significant ease in tensions since.

Bach had hailed the reconciliatory mood, saying previously that the Olympic spirit "brought two sides together" and the two neighbours sent a "powerful message of peace" to the world.