The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has pledged to support peace talks between North and South Korea.
The IOC’s involvement is at the request of both countries, according to IOC president Thomas Bach.
At the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2018 winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, North and South Korean athletes walked under a symbolic unified flag, marking a significant development in the long-running dispute between the two nations.
North and South Korea also contributed players towards a joint women’s ice hockey team at the Games, after which Bach (pictured with South Korean President Moon Jae-In and North Korean President Kim Yong-nam) visited North Korea to meet the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un.
Yesterday (Thursday) the two countries announced they would field a combined women’s team in the semi-finals at the International Table Tennis Federation World Championships after opting against competing against each other in the quarter-finals of the tournament in Halmstad, Sweden.
“We have committed ourselves to the request of both (countries) to accompany peace talks through sports initiatives and meetings, encounters and support for athletes,” Bach said, according to the Reuters news agency.
“There is more to come on short notice, in mid-term and long-term with regard to the upcoming Youth Olympics, Tokyo 2020 Olympics and with the youth Games in Lausanne in 2020 and then of course the winter Games in Beijing 2022.”
