The head of the PyeongChang Winter Games Friday shot down an "irresponsible" report that IOC President Thomas Bach is "hoping to visit North Korea to discuss its participation in the competition," according to the AFP. POCOG President Lee Hee-beom said, "I was flabbergasted by the report which is absolutely groundless. I suspect someone might be talking about his own wishful thinking. This is quite irresponsible. In reality, North Korea is under international sanctions and such a visit is hard to be realized." South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited unnamed government sources in a report which said Bach "wanted to visit North Korea" (AFP, 12/8).
SWISS MEETING YONHAP reported Bach had a meeting with North Korea Olympic Committee President Kim Il-guk at the IOC HQ in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday. The IOC, however, did not "elaborate on what the two officials discussed" (YONHAP, 12/9).
RESPECTING THE DECISION: YONHAP reported PyeongChang "fully respects" the IOC decision to ban Russia over doping, as both parties firmly believe in the "value of clean and fair competition," the event's top organizer said. Hee-beom said that PyeongChang has "never wavered in its commitment to running a clean Olympic Games." He said, "We're of the stance that the Olympic Games must be clean and contested under the principle of fair play. If athletes aren't clean, no matter which country they're from, they will violate the Olympic Spirit, and they must not participate" (YONHAP, 12/10).
WORLD'S LARGEST: YONHAP reported South Korea's tallest building will display a "giant" LED Olympic torch until the PyeongChang Olympic Games end in March, the organizing committee for the sporting event said Sunday. In an event held earlier in the day with the POCOG and Lotte Group, which built and operates the Lotte World Tower, Hee-beom and Lotte Group Chair Shin Dong-bin lit the LED Olympic torch at the top of the tower in Jamsil, eastern Seoul, the committee said (YONHAP, 12/10).
