Sports

AP Exclusive: IOC president meets North Korean leader Kim

30 of March 2018

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, left, is greeted by North Korean Sports Minister Kim Il Guk on his arrival at the Pyongyang Airport in North Korea, Thursday, March 29, 2018. IOC President Bach arrived in North Korea on Thursday after playing a key role in allowing it to participate in last month's Pyeongchang Olympic Games in South Korea. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin),International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, left, is greeted by North Korean Sports Minister Kim Il Guk on his arrival at the Pyongyang Airport in North Korea, Thursday, March 29, 2018. IOC President Bach arrived in North Korea on Thursday after playing a key role in allowing it to participate in last month's Pyeongchang Olympic Games in South Korea. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang. Bach told an Associated Press Television crew the two had a 30-minute formal meeting followed by 45 minutes of casual talking while watching a football match Friday afternoon at Pyongyang's huge May Day Stadium.

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang.

Bach told an Associated Press Television crew the two had a 30-minute formal meeting followed by 45 minutes of casual talking while watching a football match Friday afternoon at Pyongyang’s huge May Day Stadium. He said Kim supports a plan to have North Korean athletes compete in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

Bach arrived in Pyongyang on Thursday to discuss development of sports in North Korea and the preparation of its athletes to qualify and participate in upcoming Olympics. He is the first foreign official to meet Kim since the North Korean leader returned from a summit in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping.