South Korean officials who recently inspected a ski resort in North Korea found the facilities are in a good enough condition to host joint ski training ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, a government official said Friday. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean officials who recently inspected a ski resort in North Korea found the facilities are in a good enough condition to host joint ski training ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, a government official said Friday.
The two Koreas agreed last week to hold cultural events at Mt. Kumgang and conduct skiing exercises for their non-Olympic athletes at Masikryong Ski Resort on the North’s east coast. An advance team of South Korean officials returned home from the North on Thursday after a three-day inspection into venues for joint events.
An official at Seoul’s unification ministry said that the conditions of the slopes and snow looked fine and the facilities, including the lifts, were under normal operation.
“The government sees no problem in hosting practices and joint training (among skiers),” the official said.
The advance team also visited Kalma Airport, a military airfield, to check whether it can be used to fly in South Korean skiers to the North Korean ski resort.
The airfield, a 45-minute drive from the ski resort, appeared to be in good condition, the official added. The team also checked logistics, such as the runaway and airport apron, as well as safety equipment.
Meanwhile, the official said that the two Koreas are likely to hold a joint cultural event at Mount Kumgang in early February to celebrate the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
The date for the event has yet to be fixed, but the two sides are considering holding the event for about two hours at the 620-seat cultural hall of a mountainous resort in the North, according to the ministry.
“The South is considering playing modern and traditional music and holding literary events. The North said it would focus on traditional music,” the official said.
Seoul may be considering adding K-pop music to the programs, he added.
Mt. Kumgang was once a venue bustling with South Korean tourists when the two Koreas launched a joint tour project in 1998. But Seoul suspended the tour program in 2008 after a South Korean tourist was shot and killed by a North Korean soldier there.
At the mountain resort, the Koreas held their last reunions for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War in October 2015.
(Yonhap)
