(LEAD) (Olympics) IOC President Thomas Bach hopes politicians build on PyeongChang momentum for dialogue

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PYEONGCHANG, South Korea, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) -- International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said on Sunday he hopes politicians will build on momentum for dialogue created during the PyeongChang Winter Games, saying the sporting world has done what it could.

Bach praised the PyeongChang Winter Games as "successful," with the clock ticking down to the closing ceremony later in the evening.

Bach lauded great organization and competition facilities for the first Winter Olympics to take place in South Korea. The competition was also highlighted by the presence of North Korean athletes for the first time in an Olympic Games held south of the border. The Koreas marched in together as one at the opening ceremony on Feb. 9, and they also formed a unified women's hockey team -- the first of its kind in any sports in any Olympics.

Having the players from the two Koreas together on the same squad was "a strong message that transcends sports and the Olympic Games," Bach said.

"We hope now the political world will use this momentum for a dialogue on their level because now it is up the politicians," he said. "Sport and the IOC have done what we could do."

The IOC approved an inter-Korean deal on the joint march at the opening ceremony and the unified hockey team on Jan. 20. Bach has repeatedly praised both Koreas for sending a powerful message of peace and said they represented the Olympic values of respect and friendship.

While Bach hailed the joint women's hockey team here, he said it was "too early to tell" whether the two Koreas will have another unified team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

"We started this dialogue (on North Korea) in 2014. The IOC will continue this dialogue also after these Olympic Games," he said. "But this dialogue will be strictly related to Olympic matters and strictly related to the support of athletes, while at the same time respecting the U.N. sanctions and we will have to see how the development goes."

Illustrating how early it is to start talking about a combined Korean team or a joint march at Tokyo 2020, Bach revealed that the final decision regarding the joint march in PyeongChang was reached at 4 p.m. on Feb. 9, just four hours before the opening ceremony.

"Personally, I only believed it when I saw the athletes in the stadium," Bach added.

Bach also has a standing invitation to visit North Korea, which was extended to him during an IOC meeting over the North Korean participation in PyeongChang in January.

"We have to find a convenient date. We are still discussing this date," Bach said, reiterating his previous stance. "The dialogue will continue."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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