Top Official Reiterates That Security in Seoul Will Be Tight

The man in charge of organizing the Seoul Olympics reiterated that security in the South Korean capital will be very tight, and pledged that the Summer Games will follow the spiritual lead of the Winter Olympics in Calgary.

“I can definitely say we can guarantee the security of anyone who comes to the Olympics,” Park Seh Jik, president of the Seoul organizing committee, said in London. “They will come in an atmosphere of peace and friendship. The world is a better place after the Calgary Olympics. It will be better still after the Seoul Olympics.”

Park hinted that the threat of terrorist activities before the Games is a recognized possibility. But, he said, there is nothing to fear.

Park said he still hopes North Korea, which has announced that it will boycott the games, might change its mind, along with Albania, Cuba, Nicaragua and Ethiopia, which also have pulled out.