Paralympics panel to discuss N. Korea's wild-card entry to PyeongChang

SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Yonhap) -- The International Paralympics Committee (IPC) said Tuesday it will convene an executive committee meeting later this month to discuss whether to grant a wild-card entry to North Korea for the upcoming PyeongChang Paralympics.

Kim Sung-il, a member of the IPC's governing board, told Yonhap News the organization will hold an executive committee meeting at its headquarters in Germany from Jan. 26 to 28.

The North's possible entry to the event will be discussed at the meeting, he added.

The 2018 Winter Paralympics will be held in PyeongChang, 180 kilometers east of Seoul, from March 9 to 18.

Kim said IPC President Andrew Parsons and other committee members have already expressed their intention to cooperate on North Korea's participation.

To be eligible to compete in the Paralympics, countries need to register athletes with the IPC and the players have to go through classification processes.

No North Korean athletes have been registered but they could still join the games through the wild-card system.

Sources said North Korea appears to prepare for the upcoming Paralympics, with two North Korean athletes set to participate in the 2017-18 World Para Nordic Skiing World Cup in Germany starting Jan. 21.

colin@yna.co.kr
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