Ping pong diplomacy unites ROK, DPRK

STOCKHOLM - The Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea opted against playing each other at the world table tennis championships on Thursday, deciding instead to field a joint women's team for the semi-finals.

The move earned a round of applause from world table tennis officials as the two teams told umpires they did not want to clash in the Thursday morning tie, against a backdrop of inter-Korean reconciliation.

In a statement the International Table Tennis Federation said it had approved the decision for the team to unite for a semi-final on Friday after both sides opted against playing their quarter-final.

"Instead, both teams requested that they want to form a unified Korean team to compete together in the semi-final, which will be held 4th of May at 11:00am against either Japan or Ukraine," the statement added.

The decision to form a unified team "was a tripartite one between the leaders of the North and South Korean Table Tennis teams and the ITTF".

Standing ovation

"When I informed the Board of Directors about this development, the unified team received a standing ovation from the delegates who showed their sign of support to this historic move," ITTF president Thomas Weikert said.

The ROK team said the decision is "an important statement to promote peace between our countries".

The move was the latest sporting proof of the thaw in relations between the two countries that began at the Pyeongchang Olympics in February when they marched together at the opening ceremony and fielded a joint women's hockey team.

Last week diplomatic rapprochement broke historic ground when the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong-un visited the ROK for a summit with President Moon Jae-in.

The leaders pledged to work for "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula

The countries formed a joint table tennis team once before, at the world championships in Japan, in 1991, when they won the women's team title.

AFP - Reuters