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North and South Korean Teams to March as One at Olympics



Taken from: Aelita Arshakyan's Blogspot

"North and South Korean Teams to March as One at Olympics"
By: Choe Sang-Hun
Source: NY Times

https://tinyurl.com/y6uykbt6





North and South Korean Olympic Participation Meeting at the IOC headquarters
Center-International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach
Left-North Korea's Olympic Committee President and sports minister Kim II Guk
Right-South Korea's Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan

Credit: Google Images



Top officials at the United Nations announced that North and South Korea agreed to have their athletes united under one flag for the 2018 Winter Olympics' opening ceremony and to field a joint women's ice hockey team. Miroslav Lajcak of Slovakia, the president of the United Nations General Assembly, stated on Twitter: "Heartened by reports that Koreans from DPRK & RoK will march together in @Olympics opening ceremony." This decision was the most dramatic gesture of reunion between the two countries in a decade. The games will be hosted in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the women's ice hockey team will be the first combined Korean team for the Olympics since their athletes played together for an international table-tennis championship and a youth soccer tournament in 1991. South Korea and North Korea will march behind a "unified Korea" flag depicting an undivided Korean Peninsula. The North will send 230 supporters to the Games and supporters will root together for athletes from both countries. The Olympics agreement can help President Moon Jae-in of South Korea reconcile with the North. The countries also agreed to have their skiing teams train together in the Masikryong ski resort in North Korea.


I believe that reconciliation between North and South Korea in the Olympics will serve as the beginning stage of a long lasting reunion between the two countries. Having a unified team at the Games can serve as a solution to the abiding conflicts shared by both countries. In the past, North and South Korea have been better rivals than allies in various conditions, such as in diplomacy and armed conflict, however, their minor reunion at the Olympics may possibly change the history of their bond. Although their reunion at the Olympics might serve as a means of avoiding a confrontation in front of such a large audience, it will be crucial to perhaps rebuilding a stable relationship between them.

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