ROK, DPRK agree to field unified teams at Asian Games in August

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed Monday to field unified teams at some events during the upcoming Asian Games scheduled for August in Indonesia.

The agreement came after sports officials from the two sides held talks to improve inter-Korean sports cooperation.

Seoul and Pyongyang also agreed to let their athletes march together during the opening and closing ceremonies for the Asian Games, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the ROK.

The joint participation in the Asian Games was already agreed upon at the April 27 summit between ROK President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un.

If conducted as agreed upon, it would be the 11th joint marching together of the two sides at international sports events.

During the ROK-hosted Winter Olympics in February, the two countries marched together during the opening ceremony.

Agreement was reached to hold a basketball match between the two Koreas in Pyongyang on July 4 and a separate basketball match this fall in Seoul.

The ROK would dispatch its male and female basketball teams to Pyongyang next month for the joint match.

The inter-Korean sports talks continued for about 8 hours from 10 am local time (0100 GMT) at the border village of Panmunjom.

The five-member ROK delegation was led by Jeon Choong-ryul, secretary general of the Korean Sports & Olympic Committee. The DPRK delegation was headed by Vice Sports Minister Won Kil-u.