North and South Korea will jointly pursue a bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics, representatives announced in a news conference Wednesday in Pyongyang, North Korea.

The bid is part of a larger move toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreeing on the first steps toward denuclearization and peace. No immediate details about the Olympic bid, such as which cities would host it, were revealed.

South Korea hosted the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, with athletes from the two countries forming a unified team. A successful 2032 bid would bring the Summer Games to the peninsula for the first time since Seoul hosted the 1988 competition.

Brisbane, Australia, plans to bid for the 2032 Games and Germany has announced plans for a multi-city bid. Tokyo will host the 2020 Games, which move to Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028. Beijing is the site of the 2022 Winter Olympics. </s> North and South Korea have agreed to seek to jointly host the 2032 Summer Olympics.

The announcement was made at a news conference held Wednesday in Pyongyang, North Korea. That revelation was part of a much larger development toward peace on the Korean peninsula, where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to new steps to denuclearize.

As far as the 2032 Summer Olympics is concerned, the two Korean leaders gave no details of which cities might host events or how advanced the plans were.

If the two nations move forward with a bid for the 2032 Games, it could bring the Summer Olympics to the Korean peninsula for the first time since 1988, when Seoul was host. Of course, the 2018 Winter Olympics were hosted by South Korea in PyeongChang, where athletes from North and South Korea formed a unified Olympic team.

Tokyo (2020), Paris (2024) and Los Angeles (2028) are slated to host the next three Summer Olympics. Beijing will host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Germany has already announced plans for a multi-city bid for 2032, as has Brisbane, Australia. The India Olympic Committee has also indicated its interest in hosting the 2032 Games. </s> Moon and Kim announced a sweeping set of agreements including a vow to work together to host the Summer Olympics in 2032.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands after signing the documents at the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018. (Pyongyang Press Corps Pool via AP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a statement Wednesday that the countries planned to jointly bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics.

At a major summit, the two leaders gave no details of which cities might host certain events at the games, or how advanced the plans were.

The International Olympic Committee traditionally does not announce host cities until seven years ahead of the games. That would give the Koreas until 2025 to put together a joint bid.

Germany, with a multi-city bid, Brisbane, Australia and Jakarta, Indonesia are among those who have indicated they would bid for the 2032 Games. The India Olympic Committee has also said it could bid for 2032, as has South Africa’s Olympic committee in an attempt to bring the Olympics to Africa for the first time.

A successful bid by the Koreas would mark the second time South Korea hosted or co-hosted the Summer Games, the first being 1988 in Seoul. South Korea also hosted the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in February.

Related: Kim agrees to dismantle main nuke site if US takes steps too

Asia features in the next two Olympics — the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, which also hosted the summer version in 2008.

The joint statement Wednesday also said the Koreas would look to co-operate in major sports events such as the 2020 Games, also without elaborating.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. </s> South Korea has chosen its capital, Seoul, for its bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics, which it hopes to jointly host with rival North Korea as a peace gesture.

South Korea’s Olympic committee announced the decision after a meeting Monday in which Seoul received 34 of 49 votes, edging out the southern port city of Busan.

The Koreas are expected to officially inform the International Olympic Committee of their intent to co-host the 2032 Olympics on Friday during a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. While North Korea has yet to formally announce its candidate city for the Olympics, its capital, Pyongyang, is seen as the obvious choice because it’s much more developed than other North Korean cities.

While Monday’s decision by the South Korean Olympic committee needs approval from the country’s sports and finance ministries, that is seen as a formality since the government has described the 2032 Games as a crucial opportunity to stabilize relations with North Korea.

Following a meeting of their leaders in September, the rival Koreas agreed to pursue a joint bid for the 2032 Olympics and also send combined teams to the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games, among other steps to promote reconciliation.

TRENDING: Nearly 2 Weeks After Alleged Hate Crime, Smollett Hands over ‘Limited and Redacted’ Phone Records

“Seoul will cooperate with the national government so that the 2032 Summer Olympics become something more than a sports festival — an opportunity to change the fate of the Korean Peninsula,” Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said in a statement.

Currently it would be extremely difficult to host the Olympics in North Korea because of heavy U.S.-led sanctions against the North which are unlikely to be removed until it takes firmer steps toward relinquishing its nuclear weapons. There continue to be doubts whether North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is willing to deal away an arsenal he may see as his strongest guarantee of survival.

There is also declining public support among South Koreans for hosting large sports events due to worries over huge costs.

Following a provocative series of nuclear and missile tests in 2017, Kim met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in three times last year and also held a historic summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in June in Singapore. But the summits failed to produce much substance regarding how and when North Korea would denuclearize, and negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang seemed to be reaching a stalemate before they agreed to a second Trump-Kim meeting on Feb. 27-28 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

For some South Koreans, it’s mind-boggling that the Koreas are even talking about jointly hosting the Olympics. North Korea boycotted the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Summer Olympics, both held in Seoul, and relations dramatically worsened ahead of the Seoul Olympics with the North’s bombing of a South Korean passenger jet that killed all 115 aboard in November 1987.

The Koreas have often used sports to facilitate diplomacy. North Korea sent hundreds of people to the Winter Olympics in South Korea’s Pyeongchang in February last year, including Kim’s sister, who conveyed her desire for an inter-Korean summit following tensions over North Korea’s weapons tests.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards. </s> North and South Korea are planning to launch a joint bid to host the 2032 summer Olympics together, the reports.

The Koreas are expected to present their plans to co-host the Games at the International Olympic City in Lausanne, Switzerland, this Friday. Representatives from the two countries will be in attendance.

The South Korean Olympic Committee chose Seoul, which hosted the Olympics in 1988, for the bid. North Korea has not announced which of its cities would join Seoul, but experts say it is likely to be Pyongyang.

North Korea’s participation in sporting events has in the past been hindered by the country’s relationship with the South. In 1986, the country boycotted the Asian Games, and two years later, the summer Olympics. Both were held in South Korea.

But South Korean President Moon Jae-In has expressed interest in engagement with Pyongyang since assuming office in 2017. Last year, he invited North Korean athletes, supporters and officials to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, the two countries’ delegations marching under one flag.

The launch of a joint bid represents a further warming of ties between the Koreas. Officials say a jointly-hosted Olympics is an opportunity for sports diplomacy to bring stability to the Korean peninsula, but its feasibility is dependent on North Korea’s denuclearization plans, which will be discussed during upcoming talks between Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi. </s> North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a statement Wednesday that the countries planned to jointly bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics.

At a major summit, the two leaders gave no details of which cities might host certain events at the games, or how advanced the plans were.

The International Olympic Committee traditionally does not announce host cities until seven years ahead of the games. That would give the Koreas until 2025 to put together a joint bid.

Germany has already announced plans for a multi-city bid for 2032, as has Brisbane, Australia. The India Olympic Committee has also indicated its interest in hosting the 2032 Games.

A successful bid by the Koreas would mark the second time South Korea hosted or co-hosted the Summer Games, the first being 1988 in Seoul. South Korea also hosted the Pyeongchang Winter Games in February.

Asia also features in the next two Olympics — the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, which also hosted the summer version in 2008. </s> North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a statement Wednesday that the countries planned to jointly bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics.

At a major summit, the two leaders gave no details of which cities might host certain events at the games, or how advanced the plans were.

The International Olympic Committee traditionally does not announce host cities until seven years ahead of the games. That would give the Koreas until 2025 to put together a joint bid.

Germany has already announced plans for a multi-city bid for 2032, as has Brisbane, Australia. The India Olympic Committee has also indicated its interest in hosting the 2032 Games.

A successful bid by the Koreas would mark the second time South Korea hosted or co-hosted the Summer Games, the first being 1988 in Seoul. South Korea also hosted the Winter Games in Pyeongchang in February.

Asia also features in the next two Olympics — the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, which also hosted the summer version in 2008. </s> PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a statement Wednesday that the countries planned to jointly bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics.

At a major summit, the two leaders gave no details of which cities might host certain events at the games, or how advanced the plans were.

The International Olympic Committee traditionally does not announce host cities until seven years ahead of the games. That would give the Koreas until 2025 to put together a joint bid.

Germany has already announced plans for a multi-city bid for 2032, as has Brisbane, Australia. The India Olympic Committee has also indicated its interest in hosting the 2032 Games.

A successful bid by the Koreas would mark the second time South Korea hosted or co-hosted the Summer Games, the first being 1988 in Seoul. South Korea also hosted the Pyeongchang Winter Games in February.

Asia also features in the next two Olympics — the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo and the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, which also hosted the summer version in 2008. </s> LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Feb 15 (Reuters) - North Korea and South Korea want a joint march at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and have requested to have some unified teams in different sports, the president of the International Olympic Committee said on Friday.

South and North Korean sports and government officials met with the IOC in Lausanne, buoyed by the role the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics played in easing tensions between the two countries, amid initial planning for a joint bid for the 2032 Olympics.

The two nations had marched together at the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang for the first time since the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. They had also fielded a unified women's ice hockey team.

"We are taking note that both are very much interested in having some joined actions in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 with a joined march and some unified teams in different sports," IOC President Thomas Bach said.

The IOC said the two countries had officially requested to enter joint teams in the qualifying process for four sports -- women's basketball, women's hockey, the judo mixed team event and some men's and women's rowing teams.

Among the points of discussion at the Lausanne meeting was also a potential 2032 Summer Olympics joint bid by North and South Korea, and Bach praised them for proceeding with it.

"We think this is a great symbol of the Olympic spirit. It is a great symbol again of the unifying power of the Olympic Games," Bach said.

"Sport will continue to build bridges and demonstrate the unifying power of the Olympic Games. Therefore, we warmly welcome the historic initiative of the two Koreas to put forward a joint Korean candidature for the Olympic Games 2032," he added.

Relations between the nations greatly improved last year, with South Korean President Moon Jae-in meeting his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un at three different summits.

North Korea has for years pursued nuclear and missile programs in defiance of U.N. sanctions but the neighbors moved to thaw relations in 2018.

"South Korea greatly hopes to jointly host the Olympic Games 2032 with North Korea, and will work to successfully bid for the Games together," Do Jong-hwan, South Korean sports and culture minister said.

"The leaders of the two Koreas agreed that they intended to host the Olympic Games in 2032. I am very moved and excited by the prospect of bidding together with South Korea," he said.

"We agree with the concepts put forward by South Korea, and ask for the support of President Bach and the IOC to jointly host the Olympic Games in Seoul and Pyongyang."

The IOC usually awards the Olympics seven years in advance. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann Editing by Mark Heinrich and Toby Davis)
North and South Korea announce they will launch a joint bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics.