Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

S. Korea’s Moon and North’s ceremonial head of state to attend ice hockey match

-

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the North's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam will together attend the unified Korean women's ice hockey team's first match at the Winter Olympics Saturday, a report said.

The two men will jointly support the team in the evening match in Gangneung against Switzerland, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing Seoul's presidential Blue House.

It did not mention Kim Yo Jong, the young but influential sister of the North's leader Kim Jong Un, who is also part of Pyongyang's delegation and has been the focus of widespread attention.

The report could not immediately be confirmed, but pictures showed both Kim Yong Nam and Kim Yo Jong at Seoul railway station taking a high-speed train to Gangneung -- along with the South's unification minister, who is in charge of relations with the North.

"We are not giving any information on the itinerary of President Moon in advance," a spokesman told AFP.

The unified women's ice hockey team is the first time the two Koreas will compete on the same side for 27 years, and comes after their athletes marched together behind a unification flag at Friday's opening ceremony.

But the team's formation has provoked a backlash in the South, with critics saying Seoul was depriving its own citizens of the chance to compete on the Olympic stage in its attempts to engage with the North.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the North’s ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam will together attend the unified Korean women’s ice hockey team’s first match at the Winter Olympics Saturday, a report said.

The two men will jointly support the team in the evening match in Gangneung against Switzerland, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing Seoul’s presidential Blue House.

It did not mention Kim Yo Jong, the young but influential sister of the North’s leader Kim Jong Un, who is also part of Pyongyang’s delegation and has been the focus of widespread attention.

The report could not immediately be confirmed, but pictures showed both Kim Yong Nam and Kim Yo Jong at Seoul railway station taking a high-speed train to Gangneung — along with the South’s unification minister, who is in charge of relations with the North.

“We are not giving any information on the itinerary of President Moon in advance,” a spokesman told AFP.

The unified women’s ice hockey team is the first time the two Koreas will compete on the same side for 27 years, and comes after their athletes marched together behind a unification flag at Friday’s opening ceremony.

But the team’s formation has provoked a backlash in the South, with critics saying Seoul was depriving its own citizens of the chance to compete on the Olympic stage in its attempts to engage with the North.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

World

Stop pretending to know what you’re talking about. You’re wrong and you know you’re wrong. So does everyone else.

Social Media

The US House of Representatives will again vote Saturday on a bill that would force TikTok to divest from Chinese parent company ByteDance.

Business

Two sons of the world's richest man Bernard Arnault on Thursday joined the board of LVMH after a shareholder vote.

Entertainment

Taylor Swift is primed to release her highly anticipated record "The Tortured Poets Department" on Friday.