Nikki Haley says it’s an “open question” whether U.S. athletes will be able to attend the Winter Olympics because of tensions with North Korea.
The UN ambassador told Fox News that U.S. officials are discussing how best to protect American athletes traveling to South Korea in February for the winter games, even as tensions between the U.S. and North Korea continue to mount.
“I think those are conversations we are going to have to have, but what have we always said? We don’t ever fear anything, we live our lives,” Haley said, as reported by CNN. “And certainly that is a perfect opportunity for all of them to go and do something they have worked so hard for.”
But Haley said it’s not a “done deal” that U.S. athletes will be able to attend the Olympics.
“There’s an open question. I have not heard anything about that, but I do know in the talks that we have – whether it’s Jerusalem or North Korea – it’s about, how do we protect the US citizens in the area?”
Tensions with the U.S. have ratcheted up after a series of North Korean missile tests. Washington worries the isolated nation will develop an intercontinental missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the United States.
That’s sparked talk of war, a conflict that would inevitably impact North Korea’s neighbor and the Olympic hosts, South Korea.
“What we will do is, we will make sure that we’re taking every precaution possible to make sure that they’re safe and to know everything that’s going on around them,” Haley said.
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© 2017 The State (Columbia, S.C.)
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