Olympics: Rogge rules out N. Korea co-hosting Pyeongchang Games+

TOKYO, July 14 Kyodo -
North Korea will not co-host the 2018 Winter Olympics with South Korea in Pyeongchang, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said on Thursday.
While Rogge, speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, said he would endorse a ''symbolic'' gesture between the two nations such as a joint parade, North Korea will not receive a piece of Pyeongchang's pie.
According to the Yonhap news agency, North Korea's IOC member Chang Ung expressed hope that his country could co-host the 2018 Games with the South Korean winter resort.
''The IOC awards the Games to one city in one country,'' said Rogge, who met with several evacuees of the March 11 earthquake at the national training center on this afternoon.
''In the specific case of North and South Korea, there has been in the past -- specifically to the 2000 Games in Sydney -- the two teams paraded together in the opening ceremony of the Games. This is something we would and could consider in future Games without any problems.
''As far as spreading venues between the two countries, that is something we do not consider under the current Olympic charter. There could be symbolic actions together like the joint parade or a joint team and this could have a symbolic effect.
''But don't expect the IOC to spread venues between the two countries and organize Games in North Korea and another in South Korea.''
Rogge said unlike the World Cup which is a single sporting event, co-hosting the Olympics is difficult given the sheer number of events involved.
''We're not going to change the Olympic charter on one city because otherwise you complicate the organization,'' he said. ''We think the Games are too complicated to have two centers of decision.
''You could do it with great success at the FIFA World Cup in 2002 between Korea and Japan but even then, you know quite well that it's not easy. It was a great championship, a great success but it was not very easy to have two countries diverse in culture, tradition and history to organize it together.
''You can do that in the FIFA World Cup, one sport. Now to do it with 28 sports in two different cities, it's not an easy thing.''