IOC says DPRK, ROK to march together at PyeongChang Olympics

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IOC President Thomas Bach Saturday announced that a delegation from the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) would participate at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. Under the “Olympic Korean Peninsula Declaration,” the IOC will grant accreditations to the NOC of the DPRK for 22 athletes in three sports and five disciplines.

The meeting was chaired by Bach, with representatives of the PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee, delegations from the national Olympic committees (NOC) of the DPRK and the Republic of Korea (ROK), and high-ranking government officials and IOC members from both countries.

Following the meeting between the IOC and delegations from the NOC of the DPRK, the NOC of the ROK and the PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee at the IOC headquarters, President Bach presented the decisions of the “Olympic Korean Peninsula Declaration.”

The Declaration was signed by all four parties attending the meetings. In making the announcement, President Bach was joined by the President of the NOC of the ROK, Lee Kee-heung, the Minister of Sport of the ROK, Do Jong-hwan; the President of the NOC of the DPRK and Minister of Sport, Kim Il Guk; and the President of POCOG, Lee Hee-beom.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach poses with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of the Republic of Korea (ROK), the NOC of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), after a meeting at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, January 20, 2018. /Reuters Photo

The IOC had approved a plan for the DPRK and the ROK to field a unified women's hockey team, for the first time in their Olympic history, to form a unified team in a sport. "Today marks a milestone in a long journey," the IOC chief told reporters following a meeting in Lausanne with sport and government officials from the DPRK and the ROK.

The IOC also approves the request of the NOCs of the ROK and the DPRK to have their delegations marching together as one under the name “Korea” at the opening ceremony.

President Bach thanked the delegations and emphasized that the meeting had taken place in the Olympic spirit.

“The Olympic spirit is about respect, dialogue and understanding. The Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 are hopefully opening the door to a brighter future on the Korean Peninsula, and inviting the world to join in a celebration of hope,” he said.

“The Olympic Games show us what the world could look like, if we were all guided by the Olympic spirit of respect and understanding. This is the Olympic message that will go from PyeongChang to the world.”

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