Opinion

June 23 is Olympic Day.

Celebrating the day, I would like first to extend my greetings of solidarity to Baron de Coubertin who contributed to the revival of the modern Olympics, the International Olympic Committee and persons related to the Olympics including the national Olympic committees of all countries.

The DPRK has conducted activities on various themes including seminars and meetings with winners of the Olympic Games every year to raise public awareness of the Olympic ideal among sportspeople, students and schoolchildren, and people from all social strata to mark the day.

This year, too, a running game took place in celebration of Olympic Day with sportspeople and many others who love and enjoy sports in attendance. 

In the past we promoted sports technical exchanges with many countries, contributing positively to realizing the Olympic ideal aspiring to common prosperity and development.

And we performed a variety of activities according to the action programme of the IOC including tree planting to involve more women in the Olympic movement and contribute to environmental protection.

At the moment, our Olympic committee leaves nothing desired in preparing for participation in the 33rd Olympic Games and several other international events, keeping close contact with the IOC and the organizing committee of the 33rd Olympic Games.

Anti-doping activities have been intensified in the international sports arena at present to protect sportspeople, maintain the purity, main purpose and ideal of the sports movement and ensure fair play.

Our Olympic committee gives anti-doping education to players in conformity with related international regulations and standards in cooperation with the DPRK anti-doping organization and enrols in the anti-doping online education system of the World Anti-doping Agency to acquire necessary special knowledge.

I express sympathy with the Olympic charter and its ideal and main principles advocating peace and friendship, equality and unity, and hope that the Olympic Games would as ever serve as the festival of the noble and purehearted sportspeople in the world.