Seoul, Korea, January 7, 2020: Korean President Moon Jae-in indicated on Tuesday that he's eager for a repeat of an improvement in inter-Korean ties spurred by the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018, Yonhap News reports. President Moon held out expectations for athletes from DPR Korea to join a couple of sports events to take place in the South this year.
One is the 1st East Asian Weightlifting Championships in Seoul from February 26-March 20 and the other is the world table tennis championships in Busan in March.
Moon was delivering a message for the new year at Cheong Wa Dae, which was broadcast live.
He stressed the importance of continued sports exchanges between the two Koreas, especially as they are seeking to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics. "It's a summit deal between South and North Korea, and a promise with the international community," he said, referring to the fact that the two sides have already conveyed an intent to jointly host the Olympics.
He also suggested inter-Korean consultations on a unified team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which will run from July 24 to August 9.
The success of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics was followed by the two Koreas marching together at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia and also fielding a unified team in three sports – women’s basketball, rowing and traditional boat racing under the sport of canoeing.