South Korean official wants to share 2018 Olympics with North Korea

Despite widespread opposition to the idea, a South Korean politician is continuing to advocate sharing the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics with North Korea.

Choi Moon-soon, governor of Gangwon province, believes the Winter Games could ease tensions between the neighboring countries.

“We can consider symbolically sharing one or two snowboarding events with the North,” he was quoted as saying by the Chosun Ilbo newspaper. “The venues don’t take much money or time to build.”

The International Olympic Committee recently enacted reforms that, among other things, allow for splitting the Games between adjacent cities or nations.

The governor, whose province sits on the border with North Korea, said that “we can consider sharing some events like freestyle snowboarding and giant slalom events.”

Some civic groups have backed such a move but many South Korean leaders have argued against it.

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