Talks With Koreas Last Into the Night -- On the Scene

(ATR) Less than 12 hours remain until a pivotal Olympic summit of North and South Korea led by the IOC and talks preparing for the meeting had not stopped before a late dinner.

International Olympic Committee member of North Korea Ung Chang and colleagues from the DPRK delegation were in the lobby of the Lausanne Palace Hotel speaking with IOC international relations director Pere Miro at 9 p.m. Friday evening.

After a quick meeting in the lobby, the delegation was ushered to dinner past camera-wielding journalists who had been waiting most of the day for a glimpse of those preparing to decide on North Korea’s participation in the 2018 Olympics in South Korea.

While joint proposals had been put forth by North and South Korea agreeing to send more than 500 North Koreans to the Games consisting of athletes, Olympic officials, musicians, cheerleaders and taekwondo athletes, the IOC has insisted that all final determinations will be made during the talks Saturday at the IOC headquarters.

"There are many considerations with regard to the impact of these proposals on the other participating NOCs and athletes," the IOC said in a statement. "After having taken all this into consideration, the IOC will take its final decisions on Saturday in Lausanne."

Members of the North Korean delegation arrived in the Olympic capital on Jan. 18, including DPRK National Olympic Committee President Guk Kim Il and ministers of the North Korean government. IOC member Chang greeted the delegation at the Geneva airport according to Reuters.

Chang is joined in Lausanne by IOC member from South Korea Seung Min Ryu. The two IOC members will take part in the four-party talks which also include the PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee led by President Hee Beom Lee and the IOC led by President Thomas Bach.

The PyeongChang 2018 president was also seen briefly in the lobby of the Lausanne Palace Hotel in between a long day of meetings preparing for the summit. When he emerged from dinner, Lee was mobbed at the elevator by the same Korean journalists who had been asked to wait outside for their aggressive tactics earlier in the day.

IOC Executive Board member and Winter Olympic Federations President Gian-Franco Kasper and PyeongChang 2018 Coordination Commission chair Gunilla Lindberg will also participate in the meeting.

Among the proposals on the table for the meeting Saturday are the two Koreas marching as one in the Opening Ceremony, the number of North Korean athletes who will be allowed to compete in PyeongChang and the creation of a joint Korean women’s hockey team.

The inter-Korean Olympic hockey team is the only unprecedented proposal on the table. North and South Korea have previously marched under a unified Korean flag in the Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Turin 2006 Olympic Opening Ceremonies while North Korean athletes have participated in eight Winter Olympics and earned two medals.

Around the Rings is told that International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel is also in Lausanne to facilitate talks about the joint women’s hockey team. The IIHF said in a statement it supports the diplomatic proposal.

ATR will be on the scene for the North and South Korean delegations’ arrival at the IOC headquarters at 8:45 CET on Jan. 20. Following what is sure to be another long day of talks, IOC President Bach will address and update the media at the Olympic Museum.

The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games are now just three weeks away, beginning on Feb. 9 and concluding Feb. 25.

Reported and written by Kevin Nutley in Lausanne.

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