By Xu Aiying and Hahm Hee-eun

North Korean athletes and representatives arrived in South Korea via the Gyeungui Line land route border crossing, seven days before the opening of the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.

The North Korean team consists of 20 athletes, including Ma Yu-chol and Kim Jong-hyon, both para cross-country skiers, and four other representatives, led by Jong Hyon, the vice chairman of the central committee of Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled (KFPD).

Kim Mun-chol, North Korea’s chief representative, made a short statement. “Dear South Korean disabled and non-disabled friends, I would like to share the warm regards from our North Korean disabled and non-disabled citizens,” he said as he entered the PyeongChang Olympic Plaza at the PyeongChang Olympic Village.

The participation of North Korea in the Paralympic Games will enable the first joint parade of South and North Korean athletes in Paralympic history. South and North Korean athletes are expected to carry the Korean unification flag and enter last in the sequence of 49 participating nations in the Opening Ceremony on March 9.



xuaiy@korea.kr