The North Korean Paralympic delegation at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games leaves the PyeongChang Paralympic Village to return to North Korea on March 15.
By Lee Kyoung Mi and Hahm Hee-eun
Photos = Yonhap News
The North Korean Paralympic delegation has finished its itinerary at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games without any problems, and has now returned to North Korea.
On the morning of March 15, the North Korean delegation's 24 members, including chief representative, Kim Mun Chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Korean Federation for the Protection of the Disabled from North Korea (KFPD), Jong Hyon, and cross-country skiers Ma Yu Chol and Kim Jong Hyon, headed to Paju where it was to cross through the Gyeongui Highway Transit Office.
When reporters asked, “Have the PyeongChang Paralympics been a meaningful event in terms of cooperation between the two Koreas?” just before the North Korean delegation prepared to leave, Hwang Chung-song, a senior official on the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, agreed and said, “That's exactly right!” Kim Mun Chol also said, “Let’s see each other again,” as he boarded the bus.
Kim Mun Chol, North Korea’s chief representative at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, shakes hands with Lim Chan-gyu, director of the PyeongChang Paralympics Committee, as Kim leaves the Paralympic Village in Gangwon-do Province.
Lim Chan-kyu, director of the Pyeongchang Paralympic Committee, said farewell to the North Korean delegation and said, “I hope that South and North Korea can have further exchanges across more sports.”
North Korea, which was participating in its first Winter Paralympics thanks to a wild card it received from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), had athletes in the men’s 15 km sitting cross-country skiing event, Ma Yu Chol, and in the men’s 1.1 km sprint sitting cross-country skiing event, Kim Jong Hyon. Although their placements weren't always at the top, they never gave up and persevered until the end.
km137426@korea.kr
