IOC Vice-President: Don't Waste Korean Initiative

(ATR) Juan Antonio Samaranch Salisachs has attended the Olympic Games since he was 12 years old, as the son of the man whom many describe as the great renovator of the modern Olympic Movement.

Among those who believe that is Thomas Bach, who was elected to the first Athletes Commission in 1982. The commission was proposed by the late president of the IOC.

Thirty-one years after that election in Rome, Bach, the Olympic fencing champion in 1976, would become the ninth president of the IOC.

Diplomatic skill seems to be one of his main resources, as was the case for the historic Spanish leader. Although Samaranch could not achieve the success of the dialogue between the two Koreas in 1988, he opened up a communication environment - unstable but meritorious at the end of the day - that nonetheless led to both nations parading together at the Sydney Olympic Games.

Under new circumstances in 2018 the new President of the IOC has continued this process "of being able to listen" in front of a more flexible interlocutor - the same Kim but another Kim - to become last weekend the first leader of the world Olympic body to land in Pyongyang with a millionaire portfolio of aid to the North Korean sport and to converse, also for the first time, with the "Supreme Commander".

Samaranch Salisachs was close to his father during the first attempts of this "Olympic diplomacy" more than three decades ago, and has now become identified with the efforts as one of the four Vice-Presidents of the IOC.

"At a time of great international tension, the Olympic Movement demonstrated once again its capacity to unite and build bridges," he said in exclusive statements to Around The Rings from Madrid, when valuing Bach's trip to the communist nation.

"Olympism proved to be one of the few forces in the world capable of overcoming political, social and cultural barriers"

"The participation (in PyeongChang) of the two Koreas, united in the parade of the opening ceremony and the formation of a joint female ice hockey team, were a great signal to the world," he added.

The Spanish leader, who replaced suspended Russian Alexander Zhukov as president of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Beijing Winter Games 2022 in December, added"That positive energy has had a following in the world of politics, with clear signs of thawing among the interested parties ... but also in the world of Olympics with President Bach's visit to North Korea. "

In the meeting, the North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un assured Bach of his country's presence in the next Summer, Winter and Youth Olympic Games while thanking him for his role and in facilitating the participation of the North Korean delegation in PyeongChang 2018.

According to an IOC statement President Bach said "Now, on the political level, the discussions can continue in the Olympic spirit of understanding and peace. We will continue to accompany this political dialogue through sport, by helping athletes to prepare for and compete in future editions of the Olympic Games".

This support has already begun, with immediate assistance to athletes from the DPRK NOC to compete in the table tennis World Championships, which are taking place in Sweden this month.

The Olympic leader also met with local state, sports and Olympic authorities to discuss in detail the IOC’s support for the athletes and sport in the country.

For years the IOC through Olympic Solidarity, whose director Pere Miró accompanied Bach on this three-day visit, has supported North Korea with important resources to favor its presence in the Olympic competitions.

The visit finished with a dinner hosted by the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, Kim Yong-nam, who led the DPRK delegation to the Winter Olympic Games in February. Yong-nam was in charge of executing international politics between 1983 and 1998 as Chancellor of Kim Il-sung, a period that included the mini-boycott of the Seoul Games that also included Albania, Cuba, Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Seychelles.

Along with the North Korean president's sister, Yong-nam was seated just a few meters from the Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, in the presidential gallery of the PyeongChang stadium. He had already been a special envoy to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014.

According to state news agency KCNA, leader Kim Jong-un received a gift from IOC that was conveyed to Yong-nam by President Bach. KCNA did not specify what the gift was.

"The window opened by the diplomatic efforts led by the President of the IOC must be taken care of and nurtured, in such a way that it is now important to ensure the complete incorporation of that country into the Olympic family. That is the main objective of this historic trip," Samaranch Salisachs told ATR.

As predicted new initiatives will be known gradually after this visit. This Monday for example sports minister of the two Koreas agreed to push for a joint march by their athletes at this August's Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia. And it would not be a surprise to hear a similar announcement for the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in October.

On July 4, 1987, an American newspaper proposed that if the dialogues produced a happy ending, the IOC should receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Thirty years later, the same thing is written again.

Reported by Miguel Hernandez.