Seoul: Representatives from South Korea and North Korea on Monday discussed sports collaboration between the two neighbours at a meeting held in the truce village of Pan Panmunjom. Among the issues to be discussed is a proposed joint march in the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, in August and a formation of united teams in the event, reports Efe news.
The two countries paraded together at the opening of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in February, in what has been considered the first milestone in the ongoing rapprochement among North Korea, Seoul and Washington.
At that event, Seoul and Pyongyang also introduced a joint team for women’s ice hockey.
It is expected that the possibility of holding a friendly basketball match between the two Koreas will also be discussed during Monday’s meeting. It was the North Korean leader himself, Kim Jong-un, who suggested this idea to South Korean President Moon Jae-in during their summit in April, where the two agreed to improve bilateral ties and to work towards peace and North Korea’s denuclearization.
“As we all witnessed during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, sports gave a chance to initiate better inter-Korean relations,” secretary-general of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee, Jeon Choong-ryul, told reporters before the meeting.
Photo Credit: Asia Times