1. On November 25, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, together with foreign Ambassadors to the Republic of Korea, members of US Forces Korea (USFK), businesspeople and other major foreign figures in the ROK, visited Olympic facilities in Gangneung and Pyeongchang. The event brought together some 200 people from 68 countries and seven international organizations, including 38 Ambassadors to the ROK and the USFK Commander, who took a test-ride on the Seoul-Gangneung KTX train for the event.

° The event was organized by the Foreign Ministry to offer foreigners in the ROK an opportunity to visit Pyeongchang and Gangneung and see for themselves the progress in the ongoing preparation efforts for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, set to kick off in 70-odd days.

2. The participants took a KTX train from Seoul to Gangeung; toured the hockey center and speed skating rinks in the Gangneung Olympic Park; and attended the Foreign Minister-hosted luncheon. They then visited Pyeongchang for a tour of the sites of the opening and closing ceremonies of the sporting event; and got on a Seoul-bound KTX train at Jinbu Station, completing their one-day event.

° In particular, the participants took a test-ride on the Seoul-Gangneung KTX train, a main, as well as fast and convenient, mode of transport during the PyeongChang Olympics.

3. In her luncheon remarks, Minister Kang stressed that “It is of paramount importance to ensure the safety of every visitor to the PyeongChang Olympics site, and so the ROK will stand fully ready for the sporting event to be the safest one in the history.” In response, the Omani Ambassador and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in the ROK, on behalf of the Diplomatic Corps, expressed hope that the peaceful PyeongChang Olympics will contribute to peace on the Korean Peninsula and the entire world and be successful.

4. Twenty-four members of the USFK, including its Commander, took part in the event, helping it serve as an opportunity to promote to the USFK the PyeongChang Winter Olympics as a safe event joined by the USFK and to step up the ROK-US cooperation toward its success. USFK Commander Brooks mentioned that “The ROK-US Combined Forces Command, on its part, will work to make the PyeongChang Olympics a peaceful and safe sporting event.

5. The Pyeongchang visit event is expected to have served as an opportunity to inform foreign high-level figures in the ROK of the ROK government’s efforts to make a success of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and the progress in preparations toward it, thereby attracting active participation of high-level figures of foreign countries in the forthcoming sporting event. Going forward, the Foreign Ministry will continue conducting various events and promotional activities in efforts to make a success of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.


* unofficial translation