S. Korea's ruling party leader urges N. Korea to join PyeongChang Olympics
NEW YORK, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's ruling party leader urged North Korea Friday to send its athletes to the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang next year.
Choo Mi-ae of the Democratic Party made the appeal in a news conference held at the United Nations.
"As the leader of the ruling party of the Republic of Korea, I am strongly requesting that North Korean athletes participate in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics," she said. "Through their participation, I hope to jointly march toward a new era of peace on the Korean Peninsula."
The winter games will run from Feb. 9-25 against the backdrop of high tensions over North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
PyeongChang is some 80 kilometers south of the heavily fortified border.
"North Korea's participation will become a symbol of a safe Olympics and a peaceful Olympics," Choo said, naming the North Korean pairs figure skating team -- Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik -- who secured their Olympic berth last month.
With the participation of North Korean cultural performance teams, the games would become a "great festival" and turn the Korean Peninsula into a "mecca for peace and reconciliation," she added.
Choo's remarks came days after the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution known as the "Olympic Truce" to declare the peaceful running of the games.
She thanked the U.N. member nations for their support for a successful and safe Olympics.
"Just as the 1988 Seoul Olympics ended the conflict and confrontation of the U.S.-Soviet Union Cold War, the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics will open a new era for peace on the Korean Peninsula and stability in Northeast Asia," she said.
The two Koreas marched together under a unification flag at the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.
hague@yna.co.kr
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