At a special Government Support Committee meeting, the country's Prime Minister, Hwang-sik Kim (pictured), said: "The South Korean Government continues to pledge its full support to Pyeongchang's bid to host the 2018 Winter Games and we will continue our close relationship with the Bid Committee and the KOC as the campaign moves into the final months."

The Committee discussed the progress of the bid plans and the developing infrastructure that will be outlined in the Candidature File, due to be submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on January 11.

Also attending the meeting were Pyeongchang 2018 chief executive and chairman Yang Ho Cho, and Governor of Gangwon Province, Gwang-Jae Lee.

They were joined by 12 Ministers from the Korean Government, including the Minister for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Yu In-Chon.

Cho said: "I am extremely grateful and pleased to hear of the continued Governmental support for our bid.

"The Bid Committee is working hard to bring the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games to Korea for the first time in its history."

Should the Pyeongchang bid be successful, the Alpensia Resort will be designated as a Special Olympic Zone and will play a key role in attracting new winter sport participants to the region and developing winter sports around Asia.

A new Olympic train station will also be built in the centre of the Alpensia Resort, further improving access to the area and its winter sports facilities.


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