Two Koreas discussing inter-Korean sports exchanges at border
- 6 years ago
Let's start with the flurry of talks that are lined up between the two Koreas.
On this Monday,.... officials from the two sides are meeting at the border to discuss their sports cooperation,... this coming right after the two had held their first general-level military talks in over a decade.
We get the latest from our Park Hee-jun,... whose been watching preparations for these talks since early this morning.
Hee-jun. What's on the table today?
Semin,... today's discussions are largely focused on boosting sports exchanges between the two Koreas.
The talks are scheduled to begin at around 10 AM,... which is now,... at the Peace House, the South Korean building, located in the truce village of Panmunjom
The key agendas include: joint participation by the two Koreas at the 2018 Asian Games and inter-Korean basketball matches.
The South Korean delegation will be led by Jeon Choong-ryul, Secretary General of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee.
Two officials from the unification and culture ministries will also join him.
The North Korean delegation will be led by Vice Sports Minister Won Kil-u,... and with him, two other officials.
The talks are part of ongoing efforts by the two Koreas to implement the Panmunjom Declaration from the April 27th inter-Korean summit.
The agreement to hold the talks came after high-level officials from South and North Korea met at Panmunjom last month.
And especially as the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics is widely seen as the impetus that led to the recent peace talks on the Korean Peninsula,... the two Koreas will be keen to carry the momentum of sports cooperation to strengthen inter-Korean ties.
Here's what Secretary General Jeon had to say before his departure for the border:
"As we saw from the PyeongChang Winter Olympics,... sports have played a crucial role in bringing North Korea back to inter-Korean dialogue. We'll try our best to make sports an important driving force in future inter-Korean relations,... and to implement the Panmunjom Declaration."
And saying that South Korea will also look beyond upcoming international competitions and keep a long-term perspective,... he said they will ultimately strive to recover the two Korea's parity and unity in sports.
And Hee-jun... You talked about the upcoming Asian Games. What specific kinds of sports exchanges will be on the table at these talks?
Right. The earliest international sporting event that the two Koreas could prepare for,... is the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, scheduled in August.
South Korea initially offered to form joint teams for canoeing and rowing,... but according to Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Do Jong-hwan,...North Korea appears to want participation in MORE events,... so the two sides could talk about how many and what events the two sides could form teams during today's talks.
And of course,... whether they will march under the Korean Unification Flag, like they did during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics
On this Monday,.... officials from the two sides are meeting at the border to discuss their sports cooperation,... this coming right after the two had held their first general-level military talks in over a decade.
We get the latest from our Park Hee-jun,... whose been watching preparations for these talks since early this morning.
Hee-jun. What's on the table today?
Semin,... today's discussions are largely focused on boosting sports exchanges between the two Koreas.
The talks are scheduled to begin at around 10 AM,... which is now,... at the Peace House, the South Korean building, located in the truce village of Panmunjom
The key agendas include: joint participation by the two Koreas at the 2018 Asian Games and inter-Korean basketball matches.
The South Korean delegation will be led by Jeon Choong-ryul, Secretary General of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee.
Two officials from the unification and culture ministries will also join him.
The North Korean delegation will be led by Vice Sports Minister Won Kil-u,... and with him, two other officials.
The talks are part of ongoing efforts by the two Koreas to implement the Panmunjom Declaration from the April 27th inter-Korean summit.
The agreement to hold the talks came after high-level officials from South and North Korea met at Panmunjom last month.
And especially as the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics is widely seen as the impetus that led to the recent peace talks on the Korean Peninsula,... the two Koreas will be keen to carry the momentum of sports cooperation to strengthen inter-Korean ties.
Here's what Secretary General Jeon had to say before his departure for the border:
"As we saw from the PyeongChang Winter Olympics,... sports have played a crucial role in bringing North Korea back to inter-Korean dialogue. We'll try our best to make sports an important driving force in future inter-Korean relations,... and to implement the Panmunjom Declaration."
And saying that South Korea will also look beyond upcoming international competitions and keep a long-term perspective,... he said they will ultimately strive to recover the two Korea's parity and unity in sports.
And Hee-jun... You talked about the upcoming Asian Games. What specific kinds of sports exchanges will be on the table at these talks?
Right. The earliest international sporting event that the two Koreas could prepare for,... is the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, scheduled in August.
South Korea initially offered to form joint teams for canoeing and rowing,... but according to Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Do Jong-hwan,...North Korea appears to want participation in MORE events,... so the two sides could talk about how many and what events the two sides could form teams during today's talks.
And of course,... whether they will march under the Korean Unification Flag, like they did during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics