[Guardian] South Korea has proposed that North Korea host some of the skiing events at next year’s Winter Olympics, in a move it hopes will ease cross-border political tensions.The South Korean sports minister, Do Jong-hwan, has also suggested forming an inter-Korean women’s ice hockey team to compete at the Games, which open in February in the South Korean town of Pyeongchang.
Do cited North Korea’s "top-class" Masikryong ski resort as a potential venue and said he would discuss co-hosting with Jang Woong, North Korea’s delegate to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), according to South Korean media.
His overture reflects a desire by South Korea’s new president, Moon Jae-in, for cautious engagement with Pyongyang, despite anger over the its recent missile launches and the death this week of the US university student Otto Warmbier after nearly 17 months in a North Korean prison.
Moon suggested earlier this month that the two countries lead a north-east Asian bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
North Korean involvement in the tournament would require huge investment in infrastructure, but Moon said: "If the neighbouring countries in north-east Asia, including North and South Korea, can host the World Cup together, it would help to create peace."