Peter Schröcksnadel has no concerns over safety at Pyeongchang 2018 ©Getty Images

Peter Schröcksnadel, the President of the Austrian Ski Federation, has claimed his country are completely relaxed about safety fears at Pyeongchang 2018.

Concerns over the security of next year's Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games have risen in recent months following a series of missile tests by North Korea.

Coupled with increasingly threatening rhetoric between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the tests have further escalated tensions.

Alfons Hörmann, the President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, claimed he would understand if his country's athletes did not want to compete at Pyeongchang 2018 because of safety concerns.

Schröcksnadel, however, does not echo those thoughts and claims his country are completely relaxed.

"The question is how the situation will be on the ground," he told Sky Sport Austria.

"This can not be foreseen today.

"I think, however, that it will be far less critical than is generally publicised today.

"These are Olympic games and not political games and we are completely relaxed when it comes to the Games."

Bernadette Schild has claimed Pyeongchang 2018 can act as a symbol of unity ©Getty Images
Bernadette Schild has claimed Pyeongchang 2018 can act as a symbol of unity ©Getty Images

French Sports Minister Laura Flessel warned her country could miss next year's Games because of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Flessel claimed last month that if the crisis deepened and "our security cannot be assured, the French Olympics team will stay at home".

Denis Masseglia, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee President, took an opposing view and said that they have no plans to miss the Games.

The United States Olympic Committee chief executive Scott Blackmun also issued a statement confirming their preparations are going ahead as planned.

Austrian Alpine-skier Bernadette Schild believes the Games present an opportunity.

"Perhaps we should set a sign and prove that we can all live peacefully in this world and be able to practice sport together," she also told Sky Sport Austria.

The International Olympic Committee have stated they are closely monitoring the situation on the Korean Peninsula and have been in close contact with Governments and the United Nations (UN) over recent months.

The UN are currently finalising an "Olympic Truce" resolution due for approval at a General Assembly in November.