With just a couple days until the grand opening of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, President Moon Jae-in met with the governor general of Canada, Julie Payette this morning.
We now connect to our Blue House correspondent Hwang Hojun for the details.
Hojun?
Well Mark, the meeting ended just about an hour and a half ago.
President Moon welcomed the Canadian Governor General and expressed his gratitude for her visit to Korea.
He mentioned Sarah Murray, the head coach for the unified Korean women's national ice hockey team, who holds Canadian-U.S. dual citizenship, and said he's satisfied on how the two countries are actively holding sports exchanges.
As a matter of fact, the head coach of the South Korean men's hockey team, Baek Ji-sun,... and Brian Orser, the coach of South Korean figure skater Cha Jun-hwan, are also Canadians.
Canada is expected to send about 230 athletes to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics
President Moon said Korea has been doing its best to prepare for the Winter Olympics and that he hopes it will be a very successful Olympic Games like the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
And regarding inter-Korean relations, the South Korean leader said he hopes the Pyeongchang Olympics can help ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and asked for Canada's support.
Take a listen.
"Thank you for your support of South Korea's position on the North Korean nuclear issue in Canada so far. I ask you to continue such support to ensure that the current momentum for dialogue will continue."
Canada sent the third-largest contingent of troops to support South Korea during the Korean War.
Governor General Julie Payette said she is grateful for the long-standing friendship between Canada and South Korea and positively evaluated the three-year-old bilateral free trade agreement.
She said she hopes to further develop that bilateral relationship, not only in trade but also between corporations and students as well.
Payette, who is visiting Korea for the first time, is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony on Friday and watch several competitions during her stay.
Later this afternoon, President Moon will have a meeting with the President of Lithuania.
Mark.
