S. Korea's sports minister sends message of condolence over death of former N. Korean IOC member

South Korea's sports minister has sent a message of condolence over the death of Chang Ung, North Korea's long-serving former member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the ministry said Wednesday.

The message will be delivered to the North's Olympic Committee through the IOC, according to the ministry.

In the message, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chae Hwi-young expressed "deep condolences" on the death of the honorary IOC member, who "dedicated his life to advancing the Olympic Movement and promoting the development of sports."

"His efforts to foster friendship and mutual understanding through sports, particularly his work to spread the value of peace on the Korean Peninsula, will be long remembered," Chae said.

Chang, who served as an IOC member from 1996 to 2018 and later as an honorary member, died at age 87, the IOC said earlier in the day.

He helped form a unified Korean team at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan, and played a role in the joint marches of South and North Korean athletes at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games.

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