Moon wishes for successful Beijing Olympics in Lunar New Year message to Chinese

SEOUL, Feb. 15 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in on Thursday extended Lunar New Year's greetings to Chinese citizens and wished for a successful Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. "I imagine you must be delighted with the good performances of Chinese athletes at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics currently under way," the president said in a message sent via China's state-run CCTV. "I believe the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games will be held successfully," he said. The quadrennial sports event kicked off in South Korea's alpine resort town of PyeongChang, 180 kilometers east of Seoul, last week for a 17-day run. Moon was among a number of foreign leaders -- including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres -- who sent greetings to China, which celebrates Lunar New Year's Day. It falls on Friday this year. South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said the latest message from Moon was part of his efforts to emphasize the friendly relations between the two countries. In October, the two countries agreed to put their frayed ties back on track after months of feuding over the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea. (END)