KYODO NEWS - Jul 6, 2018 - 00:26 | Sports, World, All

Senior North and South Korean officials met Thursday in Pyongyang and discussed ramping up cooperation in various areas, including plans for the two Koreas to march together during ceremonies at this summer's Asian Games in Indonesia while forming a unified team for some sports like women's basketball.

South Korea's Unification Minister Cho Myung said after his talks with Kim Yong Chol, a vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, that the two sides will continue talks on the upcoming Asian Games, including joint marches at its opening and closing ceremonies under a unified Korea flag, according to a South Korean pool report.

Later in the day in Jakarta, it was determined by draw result that the unified Korean women's basketball team will take on Taiwan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and India at the event to be held from Aug. 18 to Sept. 2 in Jakarta and Palembang.

On June 28, the Olympic Council of Asia approved a proposal from North Korea and South Korea on forming joint teams in women's basketball, rowing and canoeing.

At the opening ceremony, 100 delegates from each side are expected to march together under a single flag, while the Korean folk song "Arirang," often considered the unofficial anthem of Korea, will likely be played at ceremonies whenever any joint team wins.

Cho, who is visiting Pyongyang for two days of inter-Korean basketball friendlies that ended Thursday, also discussed with Kim the results of various inter-Korean talks that have been held since the historic summit in April between the two Koreas.

(Cho Myoung Gyon, left, and Kim Yong Chol)

[Pool photo]

In remarks at a farewell dinner, Cho said the door has been opened wide for more active sports exchanges going forward thanks to the success of the two-day event.

"I believe that if the South and the North do just like our athletes have done, it will bring us a marked step toward reconciliation and peace," he was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying.

"By successfully holding the basketball event for reunification, I think that the door for inter-Korean sports exchanges has been opened wide," he added.

The dinner's host, Choe Hwi, another vice chairman of the Central Committee of North Korea's ruling party, said the joint basketball event left an "indelible" mark in the minds of many who watched it and demonstrated that the two Koreas are a single country sharing the same blood, language and history.

He also underlined the importance of close cooperation, rather than competition, in achieving reunification of the divided peninsula, according to Yonhap.

At Thursday's matches, the two Koreas played against each other, with the South Korean women's team winning 81 to 74, and the North Korean men's team beating the South 82 to 70. The previous day's matches involved mixed teams.

The South Korean athletes and officials are scheduled to return home on Friday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, an avid fan of basketball, proposed the inter-Korean basketball friendlies at his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae In on April 27.