IOC Monitors North Korea Security Threat to 2018 Olympics

(ATR) As Kim Jong-un orders troops to be on a war footing, the IOC tells Around the Rings it is monitoring escalating military tensions between North and South Korea.

On Friday, there was an exchange of artillery shells across their border, with the North protesting anti-Pyongyang broadcasts. Kim threatened strong military action if the South does not end the propaganda. The AFP reports that the firing of ammunition has pushed cross-border tensions to dangerously high levels.

IOC president Thomas Bach and coordination commission chair for PyeongChang 2018 were in Seoul on Wednesday for meetings with South Korea’s Olympic chiefs before travelling to Beijing.

Speaking to ATR after an IOC Executive Board meeting Friday, Lindberg echoed the comments of Bach earlier in the week and brushed off security concerns, despite the rising tensions between the two Koreas.

"For the Olympic Games we are really trusting our security system," she said, emphasising that the IOC was closely monitoring the situation.

"The discussion about North Korea… it’s too early to say anything. Maybe they will participate, maybe they will not. But we hope everybody is participating," Lindberg added.

Asked if escalating military action was disruptive for Games preparations and the Olympics, she said: "That’sa hypothetical question, I cannot answer that.

"It’s always tense and has been for the last 50 years. They have been hosting international events during all these years. They had the World Cup in football and international track and field."

PyeongChang 2018 shrugged off concerns about the security issues.

"The North-South situation is being handled by the ROK government leaders and military authorities," Baik-you Sung, an organizing committee spokesperson, told ATR.

"Throughout the years South Korea has repeatedly demonstrated that it is fully capable of administering mega-events and that the North-South situation does not impact its capacity to do so, by successfully hosting numerous international events including the 1988 Seoul Olympic Summer Games, 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2010 G20 Summit and 2014 Incheon Asian Games," he said.

"POCOG is focused on creating a great stage for winter sports athletes to compete in 2018, and is fully cooperating with all relevant stakeholders including the ROK security authorities to ensure a safe and secure environment."

Reported in Beijing by Mark Bisson

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