Representatives of North and South Korea will march under one flag at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in South Korea’s PyeongChang, Yonhap news agency reported.
The agreement was reached on Wednesday after working-level talks between Pyongyang and Seoul in the border village of Panmunjom.
North Korea’s delegation will include government representatives, a 30-member taekwondo demonstration team, fans and a cheering squad of 230 people. North Korea will also send a delegation of 150 people, including athletes, to the Paralympic Games. The sides also agreed on holding joint training of both countries’ skiers.
Last time the teams of North and South Korea marched under one flag at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Italy’s Turin.
On January 20, the International Olympic Committee will host a meeting that will be attended by representatives of National Olympic Committees of South and North Korea, high-ranking officials and the IOC’s members from both countries, and also representatives of the Organizing Committee of the 2018 Olympic Games. The meeting will be chaired by IOC President Thomas Bach. The names of North Korean athletes and officials who will attend the Olympic Games will be announced.
Early this year, the first signs of thaw were seen in relations between North and South Korea. The two countries held talks at the ministerial level on January 9, for the first time since December 2015, in Panmunjom, a small village located in the demilitarized zone.
The sides agreed that North Korea will send its delegation, including officials, to the Olympic Games in South Korea’s PyeongChang. Seoul and Washington have also postponed their annual military drills Foal Eagle and Key Resolve, which irritate Pyongyang.
The upcoming Olympics, which are 23rd Winter Games, will take place in South Korea’s PyeongChang on February 9-25.