South Korean, Japanese, and Chinese Sports Ministers Open Trilateral Meeting
With the hopes of laying the foundation for sports cooperation and successful Olympic Games in Northeast Asia, sports ministers from South Korea, Japan, and China opened a trilateral meeting on Thursday, Yonhap News reported.
South Korea is the host for the first meeting and it was held in Pyeongchang, located 180 kilometers east of Seoul. Pyeongchang is the designated host for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
The two-day talks began in Thursday at Alpensia Convention Center. The meeting is composed of a series of bilateral meetings among South Korean Sports Minister Cho Yoon Sun, Chines Secretary of the State General Administration of Sports Liu Peng, and Japanese Minister of Sports Hirokazu Matsuno. All discussions were held closed doors.
Included in the itinerary was a tour of the venues for the Pyeongchang Winter Games and a dinner reception where the International Olympic (IOC) President Thomas Bach gave a congratulatory speech.
In his congratulatory speech, Bach said, "Some scholars have said we are living in the century of Asia, and in Olympic terms, I can confirm that this is the time of Asia. Here on this continent, for the first time in history, you will host three consecutive Olympic Games.
On Friday, the three ministers are scheduled for further meetings and will issue a joint declaration after.
The Pyeongchang winter Games will begin a series of three consecutive Olympics in Northeast Asia. Tokyo will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, and the 2022 Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing.
Cho stated at the beginning of her first meeting with Liu, "Northeast Asia will host consecutive Winter Olympics starting in 2018. And I think it means a great deal to hold this meeting at this particular point. I also hope it will lay the foundation for stronger cooperation in sports in the region."
The main organizers of the three Olympics have already met in Rio de Janeiro last month during the Olympics to talk about the upcoming sports events.
