PARIS: Austria and Germany joined France on Friday in raising the spectre of staying away from the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea amid security fears over nuclear-armed North Korea. Despite efforts by the International Olympic Committee to calm the jitters, winter Olympic powerhouse Austria said it was prepared to envisage staying away from the Pyeongchang Games next February if security concerns deepened. Austria alone took home 17 medals from the previous Winter Olympics Sochi Games in 2014 and has been the dominant force in alpine skiing and ski jumping. On Friday, the IOC issued a statement aimed at calming security fears amid escalating tensions over bellicose North Korea’s recent nuclear test and missile launches. “Athletes safety and security are of course a primary concern for the IOC,” the statement said.

Source: New Strait Times September 22, 2017 17:37 UTC