 When Seoul was chosen to host the 1988 Summer Olympics, North Korea tried to arrange a boycott by its Communist allies or a joint hosting of the Games.This failed, and the bombing of Korean Air Flight 858 in 1987 was seen as North Korea's revenge.However, at the same time, amid a global thawing of the Cold War, the newly elected South Korean President Roh Tae-woo launched a diplomatic initiative known as "Nordpolitik".