North Korea can participate in the Winter Olympics

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has indicated for the first time that his country will take part in the Winter Olympics in South Korea next month. Despite the tension between Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program and the ongoing tensions between the two countries, Kim said on Monday.

North Korean leader Kim said in a New Year speech to the nation, “I sincerely believe that Pyeongchang Winter Olympics will be held successfully.”

He also said, “We are willing to take several important steps including sending our representatives.”

Kim said, “For this, both Korea’s authorities will sit in the meeting in the near future.”

Seoul’s President House Blue House gave a positive response to this proposal. A statement from the Blue House said, “We welcome it. This Olympics should be organized successfully. This will not only be done in the Korean Peninsula but also in the entire region as well as the whole world.

“We warmly welcomed the North Korean position,” Li Kei-Ba’om, the head of the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (POCOG), told AFP.