Sunday’s closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games will be attended by a high-level North Korean delegation as well as by U.S. presidential adviser Ivanka Trump, providing an opportunity for the two opponents to have an encounter.
South Korea’s Ministry of Unification confirmed on Thursday that Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, will arrive in the South on Sunday for a three-day stay. The government said the visit was approved in an effort to further its goal of improving relations with the North and pursue denuclearization.
The notification by North Korea followed only hours after the White House made an announcement that it would send a high-level delegation to the closing ceremony. The delegation includes the president’s daughter and adviser, Ivanka, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Senator Jim Risch and Sergeant Shauna Rohbock, a former Olympian and current coach of the U.S. bobsled team, Politico reports.
“I am honored to lead the U.S. delegation to the closing ceremonies of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics,” Trump said in a statement. “We look forward to congratulating Team USA and celebrating all that our athletes have achieved. Their talent, drive, grit and spirit embodies American excellence, and inspire us all.”
According to administration officials, the main goal of the trip is to reaffirm the U.S. alliance with South Korea as well as to highlight American athletes. Ms. Trump is to have dinner with South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in on Friday.
During the Olympics Opening Ceremony in Pyeongchang on February 9, Vice President Mike Pence ignored the North’s delegation. The U.S. later said Pence was scheduled to meet the North Korean delegation, but that Pyongyang canceled at the last minute.
Be the first to comment