Koreas to bid for Olympic Games

Kim Jong-un seeks ‘bigger outcome at a faster pace’

North and South Korea will bid jointly for the 2032 Olympic Games, they announced Wednesday, in an ambitious plan built on hopes of deepening a diplomatic thaw catalyzed by this year’s Winter Games in the South.

The idea, which would require an unprecedented level of cooperation and mutual trust on the long-divided Korean Peninsula, was included in a joint statement issued after a Pyongyang summit between the North’s leader Kim Jongun and the South’s President Moon Jae-in.

“The South and North agreed to actively participate jointly in international competitions including the 2020 Summer Olympic Games and to cooperate in bidding for the South-North joint hosting of the 2032 Summer Olympic Games,” the statement said.

Kim greeted Moon with hugs and handshakes on his arrival in Pyongyang Tuesday for their third summit this year, as the two countries look to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. The two leaders smiled and hugged at the foot of Moon’s plane at Sunan International Airport, amid crowds of cheering North Koreans waving flowers and national flags, including those symbolizing a unified Korean Peninsula.

As Kim escorted Moon to the Paekhwawon State Guest House, where the South Korean leader will stay during his three-day visit, Kim said he wanted to produce a “bigger outcome at a faster pace” than the two leaders have achieved so far.

“You Mr President are traveling all around the world, but our country is humble compared with developed nations,” Kim told Moon. “I’ve been waiting and waiting for today. The level of the accommodation and schedule we provide may be low, but it’s our best sincerity and heart,” Kim told Moon.

“For North Korea, Kim’s comment is an exception. North Koreans regard their leader as their ‘supreme dignity,’ and Kim’s willingness to lower his profile is rare,” Korea Joongang Daily reported on Wednesday.

Moon said it was “time to bear fruit” and thanked Kim for his hospitality.

It was the first time Kim had greeted visitors at the airport since the young North Korean leader took power in 2011, according to South Korean officials.

Later in the day, the two rode in an open-topped car through the streets of Pyongyang, waving to thousands of onlookers who had lined the streets.