South Korea revealed its plans to seek hosting rights for the Summer Games for the second time at last year's Association of National Olympic Committees General Assembly in Seoul centred on either the capital city or Busan.

Prior to staging the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Pyeongchang in 2018, preliminary discussions were held over jointly staging the Games with North Korea, although these were mainly at local rather than national level.

A joint-Korean bid was made for the 2032 Olympics, ultimately awarded to Brisbane in Australia, and Oh claimed he believed it was a mistake to include North Korea in the proposal.

"I think the strategy for 2032 was doomed to failure because of unpredictable inter-Korean relations," he told Reuters.

Seoul had hosted a successful Summer Olympic Games in 1988. 

Oh said that Seoul would be open to hosting events in the demilitarised zone that divides the Korean Peninsula or in Pyongyang if relations improve.

According to Reuters, the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee has yet to receive formal statements of intent from Seoul or Busan for 2036, and the host city in contact with the national Government would be responsible for deciding on whether to seek Pyongyang's involvement in a bid.

The two Korean teams entered the Opening Ceremony under a Korean Unification Flag at Pyeongchang 2018, and a unified team played in the women's ice hockey tournament.

A high-level delegation from North Korea visited Pyeongchang 2018, which paved the way for the first of three inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in April 2018.

Relations have worsened since then, with North Korea conducting a record number of ballistic missile tests in 2022 and threats exchanged between the Governments of both countries.

North Korea launched two missiles from a submarine in waters off its east coast over the weekend, according to state media, and vowed to take "the toughest counteraction" against the largest joint military drills by the United States and South Korea in years that started today.

North Korea's National Olympic Committee was restored by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the end of last year, having been suspended for failing to send athletes to the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The IOC revealed last year that 10 countries are discussing proposals to stage the 2036 Olympics.

If it bids, South Korea is expected to face competition from last year's FIFA World Cup hosts Qatar, Germany, Hungary, Egypt, Mexico, Indonesia, India and Turkey.