North Korea and South Korea will field joint teams in three sports and six events in the upcoming 18th Asian Games in Indonesia.
Following a meeting in Jakarta this morning, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said the two National Olympic Committees (NOCs) would compete as a unified team in basketball, dragon boat racing and rowing.
The delegation from Pyongyang was led by the DPR Korea NOC Vice President, Won Kil U, while the South Koreas were led by Korean Sports and Olympic Committee secretary-general Choong R. Jeon.
Lt. Gen (ret) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, INASGOC vice president, was also present.
The six events which will see the two Koreas unite are women’s basketball, men’s and women’s dragon boat and rowing (LM4- men, LM8+ men, and LW2X women).
Women’s basketball will take place at the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in Senayan, Jakarta, while the dragon boat and rowing events will be held in Palembang.
The size of the joint teams will not exceed the athlete quota that applies to all other NOCs.
“This will be a historic Asian Games because it will be the first time that North Korea and South Korea will form a unified team in certain sports,” said OCA’s Director of International and National Olympic Committee Relations, Vinod Kumar Tiwari.
“They will march together in the Opening Ceremony and we are delighted that they are extending their joint cooperation further in the spirit of unity and friendship.”
“We would like to thank the two National Olympic Committees from South Korea and North Korea for coming to Jakarta and putting forward their proposals on the joint teams. We would also like to thank INASGOC for their support.”
Although the final deadline for National Olympic Committees to submit their “Entry by Name” is June 30, the deadline for the joint teams will be extended to July 10.
The Asian Games, scheduled from Aug 18 to Sept 2, will be held in Jakarta and Palembang. The two cities will host about 10,000 athletes from 45 nations who will participate in 40 sports (67 disciplines and 463 events).
