South Korea's Winter Olympic bid organizers say the North's agreement to halt its nuclear program is a breakthrough in unifying the two Koreas that can be only enhanced if it is chosen to hold the 2014 Games.
"Today is a good day for the whole of Korea and the world," Han Seung-soo, chairman of the Pyeongchang Olympic bid, told a visiting International Olympics Committee delegation yesterday.
Han said the nuclear agreement, reached on Tuesday in Beijing after more than three years of six-nation talks, was `"in line with the philosophy of the Olympic movement."
"We believe that holding the games in Pyeongchang in 2014 will improve reconciliation on the divided peninsula," he said.
Pyeongchang is located 175km northeast of Seoul in Gangwon Province -- the only Korean province to be divided by the separation of the peninsula. North Korean sports officials have also promised cooperation if the South Korean city hosts the Olympics.
The other finalists for the 2014 Winter Olympics are Salzburg, Austria and Sochi, Russia. The final selection will be made in July.
South Korea hosted the 1998 Summer Olympics in the capital Seoul, but the Winter Olympics has only been held twice in Asia -- both times in Japan.
"We still vividly remember the exciting and well-organized games held in Seoul in 1988," said Chiharu Igaya, head of the IOC evaluation team. "Since then, the performance of your country in the Winter Olympics has been remarkable. Sport is a strong part of Korea."
The IOC delegation was meeting organizers yesterday before moving on to inspect the athletic venues today.
Besides the mood of reconciliation created after the North Korean nuclear breakthrough, the South Koreans have received another promising sign as the IOC began its visit: a downpour of heavy snow that started just as officials arrived.
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