Austria and Germany have joined France in raising the spectre of staying away from the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea amid security fears over nuclear-armed North Korea.
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Despite efforts by the International Olympic Committee to calm the jitters, winter Olympic powerhouse Austria said it was prepared to envisage staying away from the Pyeongchang Games next February if security concerns deepened.
Karl Stoss, head of Austria's national Olympic committee, said that "if the situation worsens and the security of our athletes is no longer guaranteed, we will not go to South Korea."
Stoss' comments follow those by France's Sports Minister Laura Flessel, who warned Thursday: "If this gets worse and we do not have our security assured, then our French team will stay here."
The absence of Austria and other leading winter sports powers would be a hammer blow to the Pyeongchang Games.
Germany has meanwhile said the security question and the possibility of keeping the national team at home would be addressed "in good time" by the government, the National Olympic Committee and security authorities.
Yesterday, the IOC issued a statement aimed at calming security fears amid escalating tensions over bellicose North Korea's recent nuclear test and missile launches.
"Athletes safety and security are of course a primary concern for the IOC," the statement said.
"We are in close contact with the heads of governments concerned and the United Nations over the past months and there, in none of the discussions, has anybody expressed any doubt about the Olympic Winter Games 2018."
"We continue to monitor the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the region very closely. We are working with the Organising Committee on the preparations of these Games which continue to be on track."
