Ex-U.N. chief says unified Korean team can play a big role in easing tension

GANGNEUNG, South Korea, Feb. 13 (Yonhap) -- Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that the unified Korean women's ice hockey team and the two Koreas' joint parade at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics will play a big role in easing tension on the Korean Peninsula. Ban, who served as the U.N. leader from January 2007 to December 2016, said that he believes South Korea and North Korea joining together at the 23rd Winter Games will eventually bring reconciliation. "Things like the South and the North having a joint parade and making a joint team are actually playing a big role to ease tension and seek reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula," Ban said after a "Korean Night" event at Team Korea House in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. "This can be a small thing, but we need to further grow this effort." Ban said the two Koreas' joining hands in other competitions will also help bring peace on the Korean Peninsula, adding that International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach shares the same idea. "There are talks that Bach might visit North Korea," he said. "When I talked to him yesterday he told me that the two Koreas forming a joint team not only at the Olympics, but also at other sports competitions, can further enhance understanding between the two sides and seek reconciliation." Ban has been the chief of the IOC Ethics Commission since September 2017. It is his job to set a framework of ethical principles and look into the cases that might violate the IOC Code of Ethics. He said he accepted the new role to continue what he had been doing with the U.N., which was to promote peace and development, but this time with sports. "The U.N. has adopted many resolutions including what is titled 'sports for peace and development,'" he said. "We have been working so hard for this matter, and this is exactly what we're seeing in PyeongChang, and we should all be proud." As for the ongoing Winter Games, Ban said he has no doubt that it will be successful. He has already seen some Olympic events with his wife. "PyeongChang Winter Games have started beautifully and successfully," he said. "The Olympic Games have been so touching and so inspiring, not only to South Korean people, North Korean people, but to all people in the world." kdon@yna.co.kr (END)