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N. Korea competes in shooting championships in the South
SEOUL, Sept 1, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – North Korean shooters were competing for
the first time Saturday in a World Championships held in the South, in the
latest round of cross-border sports diplomacy.
The competitors were among 1,800 athletes from 90 nations taking part in
the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) event in South Korea.
It marked the first time that the North had participated in an ISSF event
in the South, the federation said.
The athletes are competing for places at the Tokyo Olympics.
The 22-member North Korean delegation — 12 athletes and 10 officials —
were warmly welcomed by South Korean fans when they landed at Gimhae airport
on Friday.
About 100 people, carrying banners reading “We Are One”, waved white and
blue Korean Unification flags and chanted the North Korean welcome song “Glad
to meet you”.
The North Koreans, wearing white jackets and pink ties, initially looked
nervous but responded with smiles and greetings.
“With North Korea’s participation, our world championships will send a
message of peace,” Huh Sung-moo, mayor of Changwon City where the contest is
being held, said.
Sporting cooperation helped spark the rapid thaw in relations between
Pyongyang and Seoul, after the North sent a high-level delegation, athletes,
cheerleaders and performers to February’s Winter Olympics in the South.
The two Koreas formed their first-ever unified Olympic team — a joint
women’s ice hockey squad — for the Pyeongchang Games. The neighbours also
fielded joint teams at the ongoing Asian Games in Indonesia.
The two Koreas agreed to increase sporting exchanges at a landmark summit
between the South’s President Moon Jae-in and the North’s leader Kim Jong Un
in April.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1050 hrs