Chartered Plane Question

[Anchor Lead]

The use of a chartered plane to get South Korean athletes to the North Korean ski resort was only approved just 90 minutes before take off. In our next report, we’ll explain the international sanctions that make inter-Korean air travel so complicated.

[Pkg]

A chartered plane carrying a South Korean delegation took off 43 minutes after the original departure time. It was because the delegation's use of a chartered plane was determined 90 minutes before the takeoff. A visit to the North on a plane is deemed a violation of the current rigorous U.S. sanctions on Pyongyang. The U.S. sanctions bar a plane from landing on the U.S. territory within 180 days after it has visited North Korea.

[Soundbite] Baik Tae-hyun(Unification Ministry spokesman) : "Concerns were raised by the U.S. and the airline about such a possibility. The issue was resolved well through consultations."

A Foreign Ministry official explained that through consultations between Seoul and Washington, the U.S. eventually approved the use of a chartered plane in a manner that doesn't violate the U.S.' unilateral sanctions on the regime.

[Soundbite] Prof. Nam Seong-wook(Korea University) : "It seems that the U.S. allowed the plane's visit to North Korea, taking into consideration Seoul-Washington alliance and the extraordinary circumstance of an Olympic Games."

Opinions are being voiced that in order to prevent similar disputes over a possible violation of sanctions, close consultations with North Korea, the U.S. and other countries are necessary to exclude sanctioned figures from a high-level North Korean delegation in the future.