Seoul, Pyongyang to discuss joint bid for 2032 Olympics

South and North Korean officials will discuss on Friday the possibility of submitting a joint bid for hosting the 2032 Summer Olympic Games, the South Korean Ministry of Unification said on Wednesday.

"The government is going to discuss during at these talks the issues related to exchanges and cooperation in sports, primarily, the issue of joint (bid for) hosting the 2032 Summer Olympic Games of South and North (Korea) as well as the joint participation of South and North Korean athletes in the 2020 Summer Olympics and other international sports events," the ministry said in a statement.

The negotiations will be held at the initiative of North Korea.

In September, North Korea and South Korea agreed to send a joint team to the 2020 Summer Olympics as well as to work on preparing the joint bid for the 2032 Olympic Games. According to media reports, Seoul and Pyongyang may be included in the joint bid as possible hosting cities of the games.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula has improved since the beginning of this year, with North Korean leader Kim Jon Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in having held several meetings. In June, Kim also reached an agreement with United States President Donald Trump, stipulating that North Korea would make efforts to promote complete denuclearisation of the peninsula in exchange for US-South Korean military drills' freeze and a potential removal of US sanctions.