The International Olympic Committee has arrived in South Korea and will begin its inspection of the first of three candidates to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The 16-member IOC delegation will begin its tour on Wednesday with a four-day official inspection of Pyeongchang before visiting the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Russia, February 20 to 23.  The inspectors will tour the final candidate city, Salzburg, Austria, from March 14 to 17.  The IOC will make its choice July 4 at its Congress in Guatemala City.

Pyeongchang, which is known for its abundant snowfall, has pledged to hold compact Games with events within 30 minutes of the Olympic Village.

The Winter Olympics have been held in Asia just twice, both times in Japan.  Sapporo hosted the Games in 1972, while the quadrennial event took place in Nagano in 1998.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.