KBS head to visit NK over Olympic coverage

Kim In-kyu KBS president

Kim In-kyu, president of state-run broadcaster KBS, will head to Pyongyang Tuesday to discuss the sharing of broadcasting rights for the 2012 London Olympics and other matters, Seoul said Monday.

Kim will travel in his capacity as head of the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), which is coordinating the broadcasting of the games in the North. He is also expected to discuss ways to increase cross-border cooperation in the broadcasting sector, the unification ministry said.

The rare cross-border trip by a South Korean comes after Pyongyang reportedly requested an ABU visit to gain access to broadcasts of the games. KBS along with SBS and MBC own the broadcasting rights for the peninsula.

In the past, the North has shared in the airing of international events such as the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa with the help of the ABU.

“Kim’s visit is allowed in his capacity as ABU president and will be limited to discussing broadcasting,” ministry spokeswoman Park Soo-jin said in a briefing.

She added the KBS chief is also scheduled to discuss issues of North Korean officials’ possible participation in the ABU congress to be held in Seoul.

She rebuffed allegations that the planned visit will also cover issues related to inter-Korean relations.

Kim who was elected the 13th ABU chairman in November last year earlier revealed his willingness to provide less developed nations
like North Korea with assistance in broadcasting international sports.

Travel to the North by South Koreans has been severely restricted due to sanctions imposed following Pyongyang’s two deadly attacks in 2010, limited mainly to a handful of aid workers. A small citizen delegation was allowed to visit Pyongyang in an unofficial capacity following the death of late autocrat Kim Jong-il.

North Korea has some 50 athletes competing in London in events including women’s football, table tennis, wrestling, judo and weightlifting.

Observers will keenly watch the regime’s coverage and reaction to its athletes’ performances. After an embarrassing 7-0 loss to Portugal in the 2010 World Cup, televised live in the North, rumors circulated that the team was sent to work in coal mines. New leader Kim Jong-un, however, has projected a softer public image since taking power after the death of his father.

North Korea took home gold medals in women’s gymnastics and women’s weightlifting during the 2008 Beijing Games. This year it is pinning its hopes on success in weightlifting and wrestling. <The Korea Times/Kim Young-jin>

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