The President of the Olympic Council of Asia, Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, believes the power of sport to unite the world is in evidence again following DPR Korea’s agreement to attend the Olympic Winter Games in the Republic of Korea next month.
“This is a very positive start to the New Year for the global Olympic movement and for long-term peace on the Korean peninsula,” said Sheikh Ahmad.
“The OCA is heartened by the announcement on Tuesday and looks forward to seeing the flags of two of our member National Olympic Committees flying high together at PyeongChang 2018.
“We still remember the participation of DPR Korea in the OCA’s 17th Asian Games in Incheon, Korea, in 2014, and the attention and interest that this generated among the people and the media.
“This latest announcement proves once again the power of sport to bring people together and unite the world in an environment of peace, friendship and tolerance.”
DPRK also entered the OCA’s 8th Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan, in February 2017 and won a bronze medal in pairs figure skating through Ryom Tae Ok and Kim Ju Sik.
“We wish the athletes from DPRK all success at PyeongChang and look forward to their participation in the Olympic Winter Games,” added Sheikh Ahmad.
The Winter Olympics will run from February 9-25 at PyeongChang, kicking off the so-called Asian Olympic Era as they will be followed by the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games and the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.
