(ATR) South Korean President Moon Jae-In says he believes the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics have produced "gradual common sense for the need for dialogue" between North Korea and the United States.
He also proclaimed that the PyeongChang Games are the "most successful Olympics".
President Moon addressed journalists covering the 2018 Winter Olympics as part of a tour of the Games’ Main Press Center. He apologized for the inconvenience the address caused, but said the Games should be an event where "you will be able to be proud to look back at this Olympics and say ‘I was there reporting.’"
The former student activist and human rights lawyer arrived Saturday afternoon, greeting volunteers and Games employees as he made his way to the spacious media workroom.
Moon hailed PyeongChang 2018 as an event that has been successful "advancing inter-Korean talks," and North Korea’s participation "lowered some tensions" on the Korean peninsula.
"As a result I believe we were able to host a very safe winter Olympic Games," Moon said. "I believe this is a very moving not only for Koreans but for the whole world as well."
North Korea’s participation in the 2018 Olympics came at the last minute after many months of behind the scenes diplomatic talks. The United States and South Korea set the stage by announcing the delay of traditional March military drills so it did not coincide with the Olympics. Then, North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un announced in his New Year’s Day speech the North’s intention to participate, setting off multiple rounds of talks at a breakneck pace.
After the South Korean government approved conditions for the largest ever North Korean delegation in the country, the IOC quickly followed suit. The IOC granted wild card spots for all 22 North Korean athletes, the largest delegation for the country in a Winter Games. A unified Korean hockey team was created, the first ever in Olympic competition and the first since 1991.
Moon said that the North Korean delegation allowed the Games to achieve its goal of a peace Olympics. Now, the work must be done to advance dialogue with North Korea, eventually thawing tensions enough for the U.S. to consider talks.
"I hope that this will lead to an improvement in inter-Korean relations, but not only inter-Korean relations [because] we also believe that there has been a gradual common sense for the need of dialogue between the United States and North Korea," Moon said.
"We believe that the dialogue between the two Koreas will lead to dialogue between the United States and North Korea and eventually denuclearization dialogue."
Moon was pressed about whether or not he would commit to hosting an inter-Korean summit featuring Kim in Pyongyang, North Korea or elsewhere.
"There are many expectations," Moon said. "But I believe they may be a little too early."
Security personnel controlled swarming videographers, photographers and journalists as Moon worked his way up and down the aisles of the media workroom. Moon’s entire visit lasted approximately thirty minutes.
The South Korean leader also declared the first-ever Olympic Winter Games in Korea as the best ever.
"This is currently the most successful Olympics and I believe that we have achieved all of the goals that we set out to achieve for this Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, although it is not over yet, this is my assessment.
"The Olympics itself has been smoothly operated and we have many records. The snow and ice conditions are good and there are many good stories that we witnessed and I believe when it comes to records, the PyeongChang Olympic Games will be a Games that will set many records."
Written by Aaron Bauer and Brian Pinelli in PyeongChang.
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