Two Koreas to discuss sports exchanges at truce village

All News 08:45 June 18, 2018

SEOUL, June 18 (Yonhap) -- Sports could work as an important stepping stone to expand inter-Korean exchanges and build peace on the Korean peninsula, the head of a South Korean delegation said Monday as he headed to Panmunjom for sports exchanges talks with North Korea.

"We will try to materialize the spirits and principles agreed between high-level officials between South and North Korea, with a belief that sports can act as a guide for better inter-Korean exchanges," Jeon Choong-ryul, secretary general of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, told reporters in Seoul.

"As we all witnessed during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, sports gave a chance to initiate better inter-Korean relations," he added.

Jeon Choong-ryul (C), secretary general of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee and head of a South Korean delegation, answers reporters' questions in Seoul before heading to Panmunjom for sports exchanges talks with North Korea on June 18, 2018. (Yonhap)

The five-member team will meet a North Korean delegation headed by Vice Sports Minister Won Kil-u at the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom at 10 a.m.

Top on the agenda will be a proposed joint march and formation of unified teams for the Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, slated for August.

They will also discuss holding an inter-Korean basketball match, which North Korean leader Kim Jong-un proposed during his April 27 summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

jaeyeon.woo@yna.co.kr
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