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The UN has decided not to participate in the Olympic torch relay in North Korea. Britain¡¯s Sunday Times reports the UN ¡°has withdrawn its staff from the Olympic torch run in North Korea amid concerns that the relay will be used as a propaganda stunt.¡±
Quoting diplomats, the daily said this was ¡°believed to be the first acknowledgment by the world body that the Olympic torch relay is a political event that can be exploited by unscrupulous governments.¡±
The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games¡¯ torch will travel to Seoul on April 27. The flame will arrive in North Korea that night via the West Sea. In the North, the torch will travel some 2 kilometers from the Juche Tower to the Kim Il-sung Stadium. It is the first time an Olympic torch will run through North Korea.
UNICEF spokesman Christopher de Bono said the UN children¡¯s welfare organization ¡°originally decided to participate in the Pyongyang leg torch run in response to a request from, and as a demonstration of support for, the International Olympic Movement. However, we are no longer convinced that UNICEF¡¯s participation in the run will support the aim of raising awareness of the situation of children¡± in North Korea.
The Times said the withdrawal was ¡°a rebuke to the regime and an embarrassment to the International Olympic Committee, which invited the UN to join the global relay.¡±
A diplomat familiar with North Korean affairs said, ¡°In China¡¯s case, the IOC made the argument that the Games would help reform, although that¡¯s looking threadbare. But North Korea? What were they thinking?¡±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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