IOC: South Korea won’t be allowed shared hosting of 2018 Winter Olympics with North Korea

PanARMENIAN.Net - Pyeongchang, South Korea will not be allowed to share hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics with North Korea even if a political consensus between the two feuding nations is reached, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge ruled.

Rogge, who was attending the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) General Assembly, claimed that it would be against the Olympic Charter and they were not prepared to amend it so the Games could be shared.

"The IOC awards the Games to one city in one country," he said. "As far as spreading venues between the two countries, that's something we do not consider under the current Olympic Charter."

The idea had first been raised by South Korean opposition leader Sohn Hak-kyu during a visit to Pyeongchang earlier this week.

But Rogge ensured that the idea will not get off the starting blocks. "We're not going to change the Olympic Charter because otherwise you complicate the organisation," he said. But Rogge did back the idea of a united Korean team, which is gaining popularity, insidethegames.biz reported.