North and South Korea have agreed to march in and compete under a unified banner at the Asian Games.
The two Koreas met at Panmunjom, the truce village at the inter-Korean border, Monday. “The South and the North agreed to march together at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Asian Games … and to form joint teams for certain sports,” a joint statement released after the meeting by the South Korean ministry of sports revealed, according to AFP.
The Asian Games, a major regional sporting event, will be held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia from Aug. 18 to Sept. 2. If North and South Korea enter the games carrying the unified Korean flag, as they did at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, it will be the 11th time the two sides have marched together at an international sporting event.
“We will try to materialize the spirit and principles agreed between high-level officials of South and North Korea with the belief that sports can act as a guide for better inter-Korean exchanges,” Secretary General of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee Jeon Choong-ryul asserted, according to Yonhap News Agency. “As we all witnessed during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, sports gave a chance to initiate better inter-Korean relations.” (RELATED: North And South Korea Will March Together Under A Unified Korean Flag At The Olympics)
The latest agreement is an effort by the two Koreas to follow through on the Panmunjom Declaration signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at their first summit on April 27.
“On the international front, the two sides agreed to demonstrate their collective wisdom, talents, and solidarity by jointly participating in international sports events such as the 2018 Asian Games,” the statement read.
North and South Korea are also planning a basketball match in Pyongyang for July 4.
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