North and South Korea have agreed to march together under a unified peninsula flag at the opening ceremony of next month’s Winter Olympics in the South, said a joint statement released by Seoul’s unification ministry, according to Reuters.
The two Koreas will also form a combined women’s ice hockey team to take part in the event, the statement added. The Pyeongchang Games will be held from February 9 to February 25.
North Korea plans to send a 550-member delegation – 230 cheerleaders, 140 artists and 30 Taekwondo players. The delegation is expected to start arriving in South Korea on January 25.
The development comes after days of discussion between South Korea and the nuclear-armed North. Seoul has been wanting to promote the event as a “peace Olympics” at a time tensions have been rising over the North’s weapons programmes, AFP reported.
“Inter-Korean relations have been strained for almost 10 years,” the North’s chief delegate Jon Jong-Su said before a meeting on the southern side of the border, AFP reported. “We hope ties can open.”
The talks between the neighbours, taking place after two years, come after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un announced in his New Year speech that his country was willing to take part in the Pyeongchang Games. Soon after, South Korea proposed holding high-level talks with Pyongyang, and said it would consider lifting sanctions against the North temporarily to allow it to participate in the event. The North has multiple United Nations Security Council sanctions imposed on it for its weapons programme.
Seoul said it will discuss “prior steps” with the Security Council and other countries to allow North Koreans to for the Games.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!