In a condolence message issued Tuesday, Choi said he was “deeply saddened” by the news and credited Chang with dedicating his life to advancing the Olympic movement and promoting sport, making “meaningful contributions” to international sports.
Choi added that Chang’s efforts to build friendship and mutual understanding through sport — and to spread the value of peace on the Korean Peninsula — would be long remembered. The ministry said it plans to deliver the message to the North Korean Olympic Committee via the IOC.
According to the IOC, Chang died March 29 at age 87. The IOC said it would fly the Olympic flag at half-staff for three days at Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Chang was elected an IOC member at the 1996 IOC session and for more than 20 years served as a key international sports diplomat representing North Korea.
He also played a role in improving inter-Korean relations through sport. Chang took a leading role in inter-Korean sports talks in 1986, and at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan, he served as the North’s chair of the working-level committee that helped form a unified Korean team. He also played an important role in the joint North-South march at the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics and the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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