They added it would be a propaganda boost for the brutal regime, just like when Hitler was allowed to parade swastikas and goose-stepping storm troopers at the Berlin Olympics in 1936.
New South Korean president Moon Jae-in is keen to engage with the pariah regime in the North and believes sport could be a way to build bridges.
Sport minister Do Jong-hwan suggested at the weekend the two nations could field a joint woman’s ice hockey team at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
He also said some of the skiing events could be moved to North Korea’s Masikryong ski resort.
Ken Kato, director of Human Rights in Asia and a member of the International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea, protested in a letter to IOC president Thomas Bach.
He said permitting North Korea to host Olympic events “will send the wrong message to the North Korean regime and encourage human rights violations and nuclear proliferation activities, just like the Berlin 1936 Summer Olympics gave credibility to the Nazis.”
He added: “Ski equipment used at the Masikryong ski resort was mostly obtained through UN sanctions violations and the IOC should not use the proceeds of crime.”
ヒットラーがベルリンオリンピックを政治利用したように、北朝鮮でオリンピックを部分開催することは、北朝鮮の人権侵害、核開発を容認しているというメッセージを送ってしまうことになる、と。
