Opposition leader floats idea of Koreas co-hosting 2018 Winter Olympics

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea, July 11 (Yonhap) -- The leader of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party (DP) said Monday that he will explore ways for the two Koreas to co-host the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics to use the event as a chance to improve inter-Korean relations.
The alpine city of PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, won the bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in a vote by the International Olympic Committee in Durban, South Africa, last week, succeeding in its third attempt to bring the Winter Games to South Korea for the first time.
"I will seriously review the possibility of holding the PyeongChang Winter Olympics jointly with North Korea," Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu said during the party's Supreme Council meeting held at PyeongChang's Alpensia resort, which will be the main competition site for the 2018 Games.
Sohn reiterated that the PyeongChang Olympics will become a turning point in the history of the divided Korean Peninsula, as well as in global peace.
"The preparations for the Games will go beyond forming a single inter-Korean team and laying the foundation for joint training," he added.
Rep. Sohn and senior DP lawmakers earlier in the day visited Gangwondo Development Corp. to be briefed on the construction of Olympics-related facilities and inspected the site.
The opposition party, which generally takes a softer stance on North Korea, has tried to capitalize on South Korea's successful bid for the Winter Games to push the Seoul government to shift its policies on its communist neighbor. Inter-Korean relations plunged to their lowest level in years following the North's two deadly military attacks on the South last year.
graceoh@yna.co.kr