North Korea could help host Winter Games

South Korea will soon host the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, about 64 kilometres from the demilitarized zone. The country may ask for a little help, too: from North Korea.

This week, the country’s sports minister said he’ll ask North Korea to host some of the ski events at Masikryong, a resort about three hours from Pyongyang. Do Jonghwan said he’s also considering an inter-Korean women’s hockey team, an effort to make the 2018 Games a “peace Olympics,” he said.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to thaw lingering tensions as we try to bring North Korea on board,” Do told the Korea Herald.

Do said he’ll discuss the plan with North Korea’s delegate to the International Olympic Committee, Jang Woong, and IOC president Thomas Bach later this month.

South Korea has also said North Korean athletes who qualify for the Olympics — none have so far — will be able to travel through the demilitarized zone to reach the event.

The overture is part of a broader effort by South Korean President Moon Jae-in to engage with Pyongyang, particularly through sports. The two countries have co-hosted several events this year, including a women’s soccer tournament in Pyongyang and a women’s hockey competition in South Korea. Afterward, the teams posed for photographs together.

The north’s taekwondo team will team up with South Korean athletes this weekend during the opening ceremony of the sport’s world championships in Muju, South Korea. Pyongyang also sent athletes to Incheon for the 2014 Asian Games, an event it has boycotted in the past.

Earlier this month, Moon suggested the two countries apply to co-host the 2030 World Cup.

The countries considered cohosting the 1988 Summer Olympics, but those plans fell through and North Korea boycotted the games.