SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Saturday asked for the international community's support to make the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games a peace festival.
"(South Korea) will make the PyeongChang Winter Olympic a peace festival as we made the Seoul (Summer) Olympic an opportunity to build peace about 30 years ago," Kang told reporters inside a bullet train bound for Gangneung in Gangwon province, an east coastal city near the host city of PyeongChang, from the capital Seoul.
To turn the PyeongChang Olympic into a real peace festival, the top South Korean diplomat said her country made efforts to encourage the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to join the winter sports event through the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which she described as a direct communications channel with Pyongyang.
Kang noted that even if there was no reply from the DPRK, possibility remained open for Pyongyang to attend the PyeongChang Olympic, saying South Korea was contacting with countries having communication channels with the DPRK.
Kang said the peace festival could not be realized by South Korea alone, appealing for support and assistance from the international society.
The PyeongChang Winter Olympic was scheduled to kick off on Feb. 9 next year, lasting until Feb. 25. The Paralympic Games would follow from March 9 to March 18 in the namesake city.
Citing the UN resolution to demand the halt of any conflict during the PyeongChang Olympic period, Kang said the DPRK, as a member of the international community, had responsibilities for contributing to making the Winter Olympic a peace festival regardless of political situations.
South Korea submitted a so-called truce resolution in September, which was approved by the UN General Assembly on Nov. 13 to appeal for a suspension of any conflict in the world during the PyeongChang Olympic period.
The United Nations has, since 1993, adopted Olympic truce resolutions every two years to honor peace, one of the Olympic spirits.
Kang was accompanied by almost 100 diplomats from foreign missions in Seoul and 15 foreign businessmen in the country to let them experience how to get to the Winter Olympic venue and inspect Olympic facilities.
"(We) hoped ambassadors (could) know how comfortable and enjoyable going to PyeongChang is. I hope a lot of tourists and athletes visit PyeongChang," said Kang.
The new line of the Korea Train Express (KTX) from Seoul to Gangneung had yet to open, but the country planned to open it in December before the winter sports event kicks off.
The high-speed rail will be linked to PyeongChang from the Incheon International Airport in the western port city of Incheon and the Gimpo International Airport, stopping at PyeongChang as well as Jindu station and Gangneung station near the host city.
The foreign minister said the South Korea-hosted Olympic Games will be performed under complete preparations of both software and hardware and that it will be hosted under the full support from the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).
USFK Commander Vincent Brooks accompanied the South Korean foreign minister, together with more than 20 U.S. service members here. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed here, a legacy from the 1950-53 Korean War which ended in armistice rather than a peace treaty.
Asked about whether to delay the South Korea-U.S. springtime war games for the peace Olympic, Kang said it was be difficult for her to mention it as it is about military affairs.
According to Yonhap news agency report, the South Korean military was considering consultation with the U.S. side to avoid the coincidence of the Key Resolve command post exercise between the two allies and the PyeongChang Winter Olympic.
In 2017, the Key Resolve computer-simulated exercise between combined forces of South Korea and the U.S. kicked off in mid-March, mobilizing a nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier and strategic bombers. It was followed by the Foal Eagle field training exercise that continued by the end of April.
If Seoul conducts a massive military exercise with Washington during the winter sports event, it would damage the Olympic spirit. Pyongyang has denounced the annual war games as a dress rehearsal for northward invasion.
