First, he suggested that North Korea may co-host some of the upcoming Winter Olympic skiing events, naming the Masikryong ski resort as a potential venue.
Second, the minister proposed that the two countries form a joint women’s ice hockey team to represent both Seoul and Pyongyang at the Olympic.
An International Olympic Committee (IOC) representative told Sputnik that the organization welcomes this development because "the Olympic Movement is always about building bridges, never about erecting walls."
"We are looking at the comments of the new Minister of Sport, Culture and Tourism with great interest and, of course, we are happy to discuss his ideas together with POCOG during the next visit by the IOC to the Republic of Korea," the representative said.
Dr. Vida Bajc, a sociologist at Temple University, also told Sputnik Radio that Minister Do’s initiative, “just the gesture of proposing cooperation”, may send an important message to Pyongyang.
"It sends an important signal to North Korea that the South is really willing to do things together. I’m not sure how much can be done at such short notice… but the gesture is really important," Dr. Bajc said.
She also remarked that sports does have a chance to help facilitate dialogue between Pyongyang and Seoul, but only if there is no political scheming involved.
"Sports, like tourism, like other such leisure activities, have the potential to bring various parties together, they definitely do. But they’re also centers for political games, if you wish; in other words, they can be abused for political purposes. But if politics are kept out, if its only about sports, which of course is very difficult; if the goal is to push politics out and keep only sports in mind, then I think the potential is definitely there," Bajc surmised.
Along with possibly helping to defuse tensions in the Korean Peninsula, Do Jongwhan’s proposal may set a unique precedent because, as Yonhap News Agency points out, the two countries "have marched in together at Summer Olympics before and have fielded joint teams in table tennis and men's football. But the two have never had a single squad in any sport at the Olympics, summer or winter."
Minister Do is expected to discuss this proposal with Jang Woong, North Korean delegate to the IOC, later this month.
