ZCZC
BSP-04
KOR-PRK-TTENNIS
Two Koreas to form joint table tennis team for Korea Open
SEOUL, July 15, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The two Koreas will form joint table
tennis teams for the 2018 Korea Open next week, a report said Sunday, the
latest sign of thawing ties between the neighbours.
The two countries will field joint teams in the men’s and women’s doubles
as well as the mixed doubles in the tournament to be held in the South’s city
of Daejeon from Tuesday to Sunday, Yonhap news agency said.
It cited an unnamed official at the Korea Table Tennis Association.
If confirmed, it will be the third time that table tennis players from the
two Koreas form a joint team following the 1991 world championships in Japan
and this year’s championships in Sweden.
The joint team in 1991 shocked the world by defeating defending champion
China to win gold in the women’s team event. This year’s joint team won
bronze in the women’s team event in Sweden.
The Korea Table Tennis Association could not be immediately reached for
comment.
The two countries are technically still at war after the 1950-53 Korean War
ended with an armistice instead of a peace treaty, but sporting cooperation
helped spark an ongoing diplomatic thaw after the North agreed to participate
in the Winter Olympics held last February in the South.
The diplomatic detente triggered a rapid improvement in relations with both
Seoul and Washington, culminating in last month’s summit between North Korean
leader Kim Jong-Un and US President Donald Trump in Singapore.
A group of South Korean basketball players visited the North earlier this
month to hold friendly basketball matches with its athletes.
The two Koreas also recently announced they would field joint teams in
three sports — canoeing, rowing and women’s basketball — at next month’s
Asian Games to be held in Indonesia.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0919 hrs