South Korea supports the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics despite Washington's decision to boycott the event diplomatically, South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Choi Yong-sam said on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th December, 2021) South Korea supports the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics despite Washington's decision to boycott the event diplomatically, South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Choi Yong-sam said on Tuesday.
On Monday, the United States announced its intention not to send any diplomatic or official representation to the upcoming Winter Olympics in China, saying however that US athletes would still participate in the event. China responded by expressing strong dissatisfaction with Washington's decision, promising to take decisive retaliatory actions in this regard.
"Our government has been supporting a successful hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympic," Choi said as quoted by Yonhap New Agency.
The spokesman noted that the US boycott of the event was a pure diplomatic decision. At the same time, Choi stressed that Washington had told South Korea about the decision in advance, but had not asked Seoul to follow its example.
The South Korean authorities reportedly believe that the forthcoming Olympic Games will contribute to peace and security, as well as to improving inter-Korean relations and declaring an official end to the 1950-1953 Korean War.
However, according to Choi, the South Korean government have not yet decided whether it would send an official government delegation to the event, the media said.
Beijing has repeatedly urged Washington to stop politicizing sports and attempting to undermine the holding of the Winter Olympics, noting that such attitude damages the dialogue between the two countries.
